I'm not exactly sure how it happened, or why.
One night, I had simply fallen to sleep, and woken up in a slightly different yet very familiar person. It was still Earth, in a previous time where I was still alive, but all of this was supposed to be a cartoon. Now here I was, with an alien watch summoning super powers and battling forces of evil.
It was real, as much as I could perceive.
But as for all the theories about how this could be real, how it happened, what exactly occured, they were all unprovable. Well, Gwen's ability to detect whatever constituted as an "aura" at least told me that I wasn't just some separate mental psyche or detached memories. I had my own soul per say, I hoped.
It was the little discovered so far after roughly half of this summer has passed. Why am I thinking about this now? I couldn't help it, my mind often wandered back to this topic because if I understood what happened then maybe there was a chance to undo it.
It was the biggest mystery in my life, and I was in the center of it.
Though the other part of it was when I was in a particularly creative mood, solving puzzles and fixing issues, my mind defaulted to the biggest one. Even when I should really be giving this dangerously humming culmination of foreign technology my full attention.
"Is it supposed to be making that noise?" Gwen asked in a worried manner, sitting at the camping ground picnic table with her magical books spread out on her half.
On my half, was a mess of metal, wires, and some ominously glowing pieces that might be deemed hazardous.
"It's part of the process." I relayed, indulging myself a little further in this project. What exactly was I working on? It was hard to tell at the moment when I was timed out, stuck as human instead of my more knowledgeable forms. But I still had left over thoughts and steps that were already flowing around my head when I changed back, and followed them to the best of my ability.
"You sure this can't wait until you can be Gray Matter or Upgrade?" She was still skeptical, especially when the switch on the side began rattling. "Or how about after Grandpa's birthday? Wait, did you even get him a gift?"
"I did."
"When?"
"A couple days ago. You'd be surprised how many thrift stores or retro music shops you can visit as XLR8."
Gwen glanced back to the empty spot the Rust Bucket was supposed to be at. Max had gone to a nearby mechanic to get some parts to do a little fixing up on the worn out vehicle. Normally we would be with him, but this time he actually trusted us to stay at the campsite and take care of ourselves without getting into trouble.
I considered offering some "specialized" help, but like almost every time, he declined. Probably because in case I'm not around to fix it he wants to know what he's working with.
Now I finally got the tweezers to plug in that hard to reach port, the rattling snapping off before a soft light came on one of the indicators.
"Can we even trust Ghost Freak?" Gwen asked, deciding she had read up enough on her magical studies for now and started stacking them up. "I mean, what if he just lied about what this machine of his does?"
"I looked over the plans and there's nothing I can see that would project any kind of harmful mutating rays towards Earth." Glancing up from my own work which was stable at the moment, I saw how she seemed to be a little on edge lately, ever since we came to this camping spot. I felt similar, because I know Max's birthday was connected to an episode but which one?
Was it that one alien girl with the weird romance between her and Max? That felt, partially right, but I couldn't exactly rush to whatever arctic spot in the middle of nowhere to see if she got free yet.
"You're a curious one today, aren't you?" I set my work to the side for now as well. I needed to wait for the omnitrix to recharge anyways before I could double check my work and call this part complete.
"Well, yeah." Gwen shrugged, folding her arms together. "You said you were from the future, and I can't help but wonder what mine is or if I should even ask. Do I get my black belts? Am I a master of magic? What college do I decide to go to?!"
"Woah, someone your age should not have to worry about college."
"What about you? Did you go to college?"
"I did." The air seemed to whisper as it brushed through the camp site. Was it getting later? We should probably start making Max's cake. "I studied criminal justice. Though I dropped out because it was too expensive and I had to afford a place to house myself and my fiance because no way were we living with my mother."
Gwen, now invested in the topic of education, leaned in to further press me on this. "Didn't you apply for scholarships?"
"The online school I was doing only had one available and it only applied to returning students. Not even my 3.98 gpa got me any financial breaks."
I swear that wind must be catching something weird, because it was making some odd noises.
Anytime I tried to find the source of it, Gwen had another question. "Why did you pick that school then if its online program wasn't affordable?"
"I was going to attend in person, but the year I moved down to start school was right in the middle of covid so things were crazy. Online was the only real option available to sign up for at the moment."
Was it getting louder? There was a somewhat more noticeable gust but that didn't explain why it sounded like it was almost words.
"What's covid?"
"I hope this world never has to know. I like having my twenty four seven Burger King. Maybe it won't since September eleventh didn't seem to happen either if our trip to New York was anything to go off of."
Gwen suddenly took a glance behind herself, looking towards something that she couldn't find as I tried to keep an ear out for whatever was making that noise. Unconsciously, I began running my fingers over the omnitrix.
Then my words must have processed in Gwen's mind because she snapped back to me. "Wait, is this time different?"
"Yeah, the past here doesn't line up with mine. But while America's arguably biggest national tragedy didn't happen I still saw people and places that were in my own personal past." Even my own house, with a child that looked a lot like I did in this year.
I grabbed one of Gwen's loose notes as I noticed it trying to catch the growing wind, and I thought I heard Gwen muttering something.
"So, my future that you know might not even be real?"
But when she spoke, I was also hearing another similar voice chanting somewhere else. The same spot that I was hearing weird noises, where the leaves all seemed to scatter away from.
Gwen's future.
The future.
Max's birthday.
It finally clicked, my mind piecing together the episode that was occuring right when the chanting voice broke through the space with familiar ancient tongue that resounded in the rhythm of this reality. Its singing screeched through the winds as a symbol burned itself into the air in front of us.
"Is Hex back?!" Gwen shot to her feet as the winds kicked up around us.
Meanwhile, as forces continued to whistle its sharp tune in the forgotten words that opened a hole in space, I felt my body lurch. The harmonizing of realities punching their beats into a single point that I was standing next to.
Sometimes, I really hated magic.
That same sensation that nearly ripped me apart when Hex first tapped into the full power of the charms renewed itself tens times stronger.
My arms heaved down to the ground to balance myself, my vision swimming as I could no longer tell which alien body I was currently flickering into. Some I recognized, but many others I didn't.
"This isn't right." A woman's voice announced right over me, a hand grabbing my shoulder as I heard Gwen calling out to me.
A blast of the arcane was sent over my head, a brief chime of higher notes slamming into the person over me as I fought to keep myself whole.
Just then, several strings of light clutched around me, their chords sinking into my glitching flesh as Gwen yelped out. Her panic brought my fluctuating eyes to see who was the cause of her distress.
I could barely make out a hooded female, the one orchestrating these spells before flying through the portal. My already overwhelmed senses screamed out, telling me NOT to dare exit the bubble of this universe.
That's when the omnitrix began beeping rapidly, energy sparking off of its surface as it fought to regain control over my fluctuating DNA. I was pulled between so many entities, all screaming out for me to cement myself into their tunes, that I sought only the sliver of a void just to escape the noise.
The next thing I knew, as my crawling skin began to settle down as the chorus came to a soft close, was Gwen lifting up my face to look up at her. No, this wasn't the Gwen I knew.
Not personally, or maybe I would.
"You seem alright now." The mystery woman who kidnapped us in the first place stood up, the charms of bezel notably presented on the sleeve of her rather form fitting outfit. I know I technically wasn't related to her but it made me feel uncomfortable knowing this is what a mature Gwen decided to wear. "Guess I'm out of practice with my time travel spells."
"Ben." Gwen, the one I've been on a road trip all summer tugged at my arm as she gazed up and around at our surroundings. "We're so not in New Mexico anymore."
"No." I agreed, feeling myself still shaken up over the ordeal but having the strength to stand up on my own, still in this ten year old body. Towering over us were skyscrapers of metals I had never seen, surrounded by a culmination of any kind of humanoid that biology could be.
Even some four legged ones, but I wasn't sure if those were also citizens of this future or just pets. The leashes didn't help me figure that out.
The streets we were on had clear asian influence, and based on what human languages were on the signs they were Japanese inspired. I wondered if we were in Japan, but a glance up at the mountains that could be seen between the city skyline told me we were near Mt. Rushmore.
Did Japanese become this Earth's most common language or are we just in a foreign part of town?
"Ben ten thousand." Gwen began to read, making me turn over towards what she noticed. A large stone statue right in the center of this shopping district. "Hero of heroes. Ben, is this our future?"
"Maybe yours." I looked over to future Gwen, who was still eyeing me curiously. "But it's not mine."
The adult pulled her face mask down, but did not remove her hood as she squinted her vision at me. "What do you mean-"
An explosion broke the statue we were standing next to, my Gwen erecting a quick telekinetic hold over the rubble that would have hit us.
"Ben ten thousand!" An armored Rhino, or alien with a gun mounted on his forehead aimed towards us. He didn't even get a second to take in my shorter stature before I had already hit the omnitrix.
Two red arms wrapped around his neck, as I slammed the forearm of one of my four arms to crash down on his horn. Once the weapon was disabled, I threw my last arm into the broken spot on his forehead.
He yelped, recoiling back as I interwove the fingers of my two sets of hands before using my bottom ones to slam up onto his chin, right into my awaiting set of upper arms to crash back down on his skull.
His naturally armored skin with sci fi elements gave him some head protection, but now that I wasn't punching him I asked myself when did I knock him out?
"Woah kid relax!" Adult Gwen, which I really need to figure out a better name for, came over with worry as she inspected the fallen foe. "Sorry for what happened but don't take your anger out on the bad guys!"
"I'm not mad." I answered calmly, because that was the truth. "What makes you think I'm mad?"
"Um, yeah." Kid Gwen, time travel was making me question how to call someone I've already talked with for over a month. "This is how he normally handles the bad guys."
"Really?" The woman, who I think I would just call Gwendolyn, doubted us. "No jokes? No teasing?"
Then I heard a rush of air, only having under a second to look up before his arrival. XLR8, of the future. This is Ben, or maybe me, or maybe from a completely separate future.
But, if it still connected to where Gwen and I were at, did this mean that this very well could be our future?
"This could be Animo's work." The hero of heroes announced to Gwendolyn, his visor lighting up as he stared over the unconscious body of the enemy. "I'll run a test back at headquarters to be sure of it though."
Then he spared a look up at my transformed self, and as I rose a hand to begin speaking, he brushed me off.
"And send them back-"
"-wait." I cut in, not letting this moment slip by. I needed to know something important. "Who are you?"
He merely scoffed, turning away and about to dash off but then I stepped right in front of him.
"I don't have time for-"
I wouldn't normally place my hands on anyone unless the situation was dire or I was very familiar with them. But if he didn't want to waste time then I wouldn't.
Reaching out with a finger, I pressed into the omnitrix dial on his chest, reverting him back to human. His appearance was definitely a one to one conversion of the one I saw in the show, if only for a few smaller details in his clothes and small gadgets he kept on his person.
But the shock on his bearded face reverted to a suspicious glare immediately. "Ok, who are you?"
Pressing my palm on the omnitrix on my shoulder, I turned back to the human body I was stuck in by default. "I'll answer your questions if you also answer mine."
He lingered over the options in his mind, the few I hoped he would consider and probably many others I prayed he wouldn't settle on. Can't imagine when the last time this guy might have felt vulnerable, and someone to catch him off guard and just turn him human? I should be lucky he didn't immediately turn into something just to pummel me into a paste.
Then, in a burst of green light, he was back to XLR8 and grabbed me.
Before running off with me, he spoke to Gwendolyn before pointedly looking to Gwen. "You look after yourself."
Then he ran, and as a human boy under his arm being swerved between streets and traffic at who knows how many hundreds of miles an hour? It was dizzying.
I felt like my grasp on him was about to give up until we came to a halt.
Ben, if that's who he was, sat me down on my feet before rushing over to check on the computer system in the middle of the room. This was a nice facility, with plenty of windows to overlook the whole city down below. But, it was empty, and awfully close to the one from the show.
"Ok, talk." He demanded, still not changing back to his human form.
It annoyed me, but I wouldn't let it deter me. "What do you remember about the summer getting the omnitrix?"
He seemed ready to rebute, or make another demand, but the longer he stared at me the more he began to actually weigh the importance of why I'm bringing this up. "A lot happened, and I learned a lot more. What are you getting at?"
"I'm asking if you, or Ben, were the one to get the omnitrix."
If it was Ben, the Ben I stole his life from, maybe he got his life back and continued on as the show should have. I wanted to know if there was a chance, or if somehow I ended up trying so hard over the years to fill the shoes of Ben that I recreated this future.
He should know, something at the least, and if he didn't, then that meant this wasn't actually our future. Or at some point it might be easier not to think about it, pretend everything went the way it should have.
But, Gwendolyn's reaction hinted towards one answer.
A brief alarm went off, whatever conversation we were having nullified by the alert. Ben sped over to the screen, before coming into my personal space and pointing towards one of the few seats this empty headquarters had. "Wait here, I won't be long."
Then he zoomed off, leaving me to question if this was important enough for me to intervene. Younger Ben just needed to help loosen up future Ben right? Vilgax is brought back by Animo, and he knows how to counter all Ben's aliens.
Was this Ben though? I guess if he was acting like canon it wouldn't matter because he was so engrossed in this persona he would react the same.
Glancing at the screen, I read out the location of a secure gene depository that had its alarms triggered.
At this rate, Vilgax would be revived from whatever deathly state he was in. Animo was a major threat if he can continually bring back the most dangerou persons or creatures in the universe.
I don't understand why he hasn't been executed yet.
Just before I dashed off to intervene, I hesitated. Should I? Does this Ben need Vilgax to knock the lesson into his head? Maybe, but risking even a single innocent in the potential crossfire wasn't worth it for Ben to learn to "have fun".
In that case, I don't think I can hold back my punches against a super-roided out mutation of Animo. Memorizing the directions from the map displayed, I held up the omnitrix to use a combo I had yet to try out but have practiced many times against some mountains.
So long as the omnitrix gave me the right aliens.
Following in the speedter's steps as XLR8, I rushed through the bustling alien streets with the occasional human wandering around. Faster, faster I ran, until anyone and anything I passed seemed frozen in time.
Taking a few wrong turns only gave me a few more moments to really build up my momentum, then, as soon as I came up to the broken down doorway, I saw the great white ape with a glass dome for a head, housing Animo's disgusting face.
He always pissed me off, getting off easy despite being the most dangerous bioterrorism to exist, willing to wipe out intelligent life and replace it with his work all to prove he could do it.
Leaping up in my run, changing mid air, I curled in on myself and rocketed forward as Cannonbolt, becoming a super sonic cannon ball aiming right towards his ugly preserved cranium.
At the speeds I was going, in a form that didn't have the mental processing ability to know what was happening outside my shell at such velocity, I smashed into a few somethings before slamming into a wall. Curling out from my deep indent into the steel, I shook my swimming head at how disorienting the move was.
Getting up, I heard the crunch of glass under my feet. Glancing down, I thought it might have just been a window. No, there was a clear fluid scattered with it.
Alongside some flesh, and 'gray matter'.
The next thing I knew thundering foot steps were charging towards me, making me brace for a brief mental flashbang of Vilgax himself coming after me. It was only the fact that I was being hoisted up and not repeatedly used as a rag doll or gutted on the spot did I open my eyes and see a very angry Four Arms.
"Do you know what you just did?!" He yelled at me, and as I peaked over his shoulder I saw the limp body, the headless body, of an oversized white gorilla laying on the ground.
"I'm shocked you ever let him live after all he's tried to do or almost done." Now it was settled, this couldn't be me. My answer made Four Arms let me go, where I dropped to my feet before changing myself back to human. "But, I didn't think that move would be that dangerous."
Animo dying to it was just a happy accident. Brutal, I know, and horrible to think about but I truly believed that if it's been twenty something years and Animo hadn't reformed at all during that time then there was just one option left to keep people safe.
"What happened here?!" Gwendolyn had flown in, Gwen borrowing a charm to sustain her own flight to follow as they both saw what had become of Animo. The adult stormed over, shoving Four Arms aside to yell at his towering form. "This is too far Ben, even for you!"
"It wasn't me." He coldly answered before looking back down on me.
"Ben." Gwen did her best to avoid Animo's remains scattered about the floor. "Did you, did you really kill-"
"Yes." I answered, my frustration rising into my face but keeping my voice level but direct. "I killed Animo, and if you remember any of his boastful plans or how close he got to succeeding then you would have too a long time ago!"
A flash of horror came over Gwendolyn, turning to judge between myself and the Ben she knew. "He's never won though! Animo, if anything, was just a public nuisance."
"A public nuisance?!" I repeated. "Nearly anytime he gets his hands on something as simple as kitchen supplies he reinvents the means to resurrect anything dead, reformat the DNA of anything and anyone on the planet, and even put those he's altered under his command! Animo is not just some beat 'em up villain of the week! I'd argue his intelligence and his near successes put him above anyone else we've faced so far!"
"And you think it's ok to just end him like that?" Ben asked in a cold manner, looking back to the body.
"If it's to protect even one person I wouldn't hesitate, I can't hesitate!" Despite not even reaching the height of his waist I stepped up to Ben's transformed muscular self. "I don't take pleasure in it, but if we don't do this when we need to then others will suffer for our inaction. You thought the same of Vilgax, and Animo was about to bring him to life with the means to take on every single one of your aliens. Knowing that, would you let him live if he keeps breaking out with that goal in mind?"
"How-" Then he did something surprising, and turned back to human, crouching down to really look me in the eyes as I didn't back down. "I was never like this as a kid. Why are you, so serious?"
He took a worried peek towards Gwendolyn, who wanted to step in to say something but held her peace. Whatever she wanted to say, must not have been needed anymore, as Ben turned back to stare at me as if I was a stranger.
"Who are you?"
Me with memories wiped, Ben who got his body back, or the Ben who never had his timeline interrupted. Either way, he clearly knew I wasn't Ben, and maybe with the future resources, magic, or aliens they could use, maybe they could help me.
As newly sparked hope that maybe I could once again find the answers to my deepest questions and figure out a way to fix things, I didn't hide my true identity.
"My name is S-"
That's as far as I got, before I vanished before their very eyes.
You ever have that feeling, when you're laying in bed but suddenly you're falling? You don't actually feel the moment you're falling, only the moment you crash in your bed with arms shooting out to your sides to catch yourself. This is what it felt like, my grip faltering for a short moment before catching myself yet again in this body, in this reality.
Only, I didn't know where I was.
Just a second ago I was staring off against a man from the future about to hit his thirties with slicked back hair and a beard that was growing just a tad out of control.
Now, I was looking into a forest in the middle of the night. Under my feet, instead of old leaves or layers of pine needles, it was red dirt and rocks. Honestly, for a second I thought I was somewhere near Kolob canyon, maybe closer to Moab.
But, something was off. It wasn't just how the air had a slight sting of iron to it or that the trees didn't seem like the native cottonwoods, not to mention my body felt significantly lighter, but none of it felt the same.
Marching under the stars, I tried to get my bearings, attempting to find a good enough clearance to either notice a familiar part of the woods to spot a road, or a trail, or even Polaris. Pulling out a flashlight from my cargo pants, I was tempted to break out a glowstick just to enjoy this sudden adventure.
My nerves wouldn't let me relax, as my body and the back of my mind kept telling me this place was not somewhere I had ever been and to stay vigilant. Without a clue to where I actually was or identify why it wasn't the familiar forests that stretched across Utah, I couldn't fully eliminate the possibility I was just in a place I was thinking about on and off lately.
Though, I'm pretty sure Gwendolyn would track me down with a spell before long and yank me back anyways to discuss how it went down with Animo. Did I go too far? Anytime I questioned if I did, I remembered all the people he put at risk and quickly justified myself.
Would I have to do that with my Animo? I gave mine a very harsh warning, and if he still somehow ignored that then I wouldn't risk Earth to his mad experiments concocted out of vengeance.
Oh good, I was coming up to a cliff with the moon's light covering the canyon. Now I could get a better idea of where I was based on, two moons?
I blinked, and there they remained. Two moons overlooking a valley with formations of red stone and what appeared to be some sort of civilization. Only, the homes looked so small, like sheds, and there seemed to be an abundance of fireflies covering the valley floor. Not even any proper street as far as I could tell.
Without a man made way down as far as I could tell, I put away my flashlight and selected Wild Vine to traverse down the mountain side. Only, when I slapped my hand on the silhouette I was a different kind of wild.
Whatever, as Wild Mutt I still easily climbed down the side of the cliff, but my heightened senses alerted me that there was actually a higher concentration of iron in the rocks and the air. Not to mention with how little resistance I felt from the gravity I even dared to jump down a few spots that would normally leave me bruised or broken. Nope, it was easy leaping down dozens of feet at a time.
I was still falling at a similar speed, but gravity was a lot more lenient here.
Just as I was reaching the bottom where signs of life were at, I heard the soft crunch of footsteps casually coming towards where I was arriving. They didn't sound human, and the smell coming from them seemed to blend in strikingly well with the area, not to mention they didn't radiate any extra heat.
I crouched down behind a rock, trying to determine what was happening and who this was. They were still a ways away, and while the moon was bright I thought my decent was quiet enough not to arouse suspicion. But the closer they got, their straight path towards my position, I knew they were completely aware that I was here.
Hastily I smacked the omnitrix to change me back to human, and as a kid adults would be a lot more lenient with me, and more willing to humor my ignorance.
Slowly stepping out from my cover though, I was not greeted by a human, but instead a humanoid figure made of obsidian material that shimmered just like the stone would. Their joints were inhuman, and by that I mean ball sockets holding their limbs together. This was a robot, or maybe a golem. Hard to tell if it was magic or science holding this thing together, but the way that the light gave hints of sparkling purple energy just under their skin made me think magic.
Until two large luminescent eyes appeared on their featureless face, their soft violet glow of perfectly circles stared down at me, looking over my omnitrix, and seemed deep in thought.
"Um, hi?" I greeted with a shaky hand. "Where am I?"
"Do you not know where you are?" Its synthetic voice was calming, even if it sounded like a lighter tone with an echo of grinding stone in the back of its throat. "Please identify yourself so I may further assist."
It also had an odd accent, like a blend of Australian and American with a hint of British.
"I'm Ben Tennyson."
It swept its gaze slowly over me, giving me the impression it was scanning me further.
"Please follow me."
It turned around, waiting for me to take the first step at obeying before marching onwards. It took me onto a wide dirt path leading through the middle of the valley, which was a larger garden now that I got a look at it. Dozens of fireflies began circling around us, prompting me to attempt to try and have one land on my finger.
Hold on, it was a machine too!
"What are these meant for?"
"Besides assisting in pollination, the life lights help to maintain the gardens while also serving as a basic monitoring system. While capable of tending to the needs of the local plant life, their function is limited to 'miniscule' tasks."
Did it just make a joke? These robots, or magic golems, are pretty advanced. "What are you?"
"I am node nineteen, designation Star Dust. I am but one of several night crew of the planet."
That didn't exactly explain what it is, but I couldn't tell if it was meant to divert the question to something more vague or if its language skills were still lacking.
As we strolled through the rather peaceful gardens, I noticed other similar machines either walking on the other side with something in hand, or harvesting what seemed to be a batch of raspberries.
This was, really different.
"I see you eyeing the fruits of our labor." A partial deep southern drawl but still synthesized spoke up, startling me as I nearly ran into my guide who had stopped walking. Gazing up at the notably taller and more bulky machine, his frame was of simple steel and chrome, and actually wearing clothes. His design was definitely robotic, compared to its other mysterious nightly counterparts.
He even wore clothes, befitting a more modern farmer with flannel and a denim jacket who looked like he could be a part time cowboy with the hat on his head.
His eyes were all but slits of black, with barely notable red dots glowing behind the tinted lenses. Despite how scary it might be in the dark, he wasn't attempting to be threatening.
"You want some?" He held up a woven basket, showing off a freshly picked selection of berries. "Most of the extras either go to feedin' the livestock or plantin' more. Not many mouths to feed on Mars. Not yet at least."
Mars, we were on Mars. That explains the low gravity and two moons. Even the really red dirt and subtle iron permeating the air. Yet how come the air was so breathable, and how could all this plant life grow here?
"Thanks." But while most of everything was understandably not exactly Earth, at least these fruits tasted just like the ones from my grandmother's garden. "You ever make jam with these?"
"And jelly." He proudly announced, beckoning me to follow as my previous guide remained in the gardens. We walked across a much wider stretch of dirt road that was at the front of the gardens, before hopping in probably the most awesome looking modified older jeep. It was like taking a mars rover, giving it the off-roading capabilities of a dune buggy, and putting the shell of an old war jeep around it but just a little bigger to sit people comfortably within.
My new escort put his finger in where the keyport would be, before cranking the thing to start up and drove us away. We exited the narrow garden slit in the mountains, which opened up into a wider valley giving us a better view without red cliffs and mountain formations to loom immediately overhead.
We were going much faster than I felt like we should be, and when I stuck my arm out to the side I immediately felt the rush of wind, but only on my hand.
"Real handy, ain't they? No roof but still all the comforts of those enclosed vehicles. Though if you want the wind in your hair just dial that knob there. Slowly though, otherwise you might make me lose my hat."
Again, another one made a joke. Though this one had much more personality.
Oh, and a rather big revolver on his hip. Noted.
Mentally I dubbed him Big Iron, or just Marty. But he wasn't a classic cowboy so maybe not. He wasn't built to meet a media stereotype, but rather it seemed like you grabbed some ordinary modern farmer and just gave him a robot body.
Crap, was this guy actually a cyborg and not just a machine?
"We're comin' up to our destination." He alerted me, the trip having been a short one. Honestly we probably could have walked it but that would have turned a three minute drive into a half an hour walk.
He slowed down as we reached the slope to a slight incline onto a hill. It wasn't a big one, but the one side did have a cliff stretching down about thirty feet. Upon this wide flat hill was a set of two large interconnected cabins with a big garage beside it that looked like an army supply vault.
The cabins were made with wood from the local trees, matching the red dirt but standing out just a little more with its darker tones. The bottom half of the ground floor walls were covered in corrugated metal, just like the roofs and the porch awnings. Lastly, the biggest thing I noticed was the single stylized lamp post at the front drive bathing the front yard of the property in a soft glow.
This, felt like exactly the kind of home I would dream of to live in. Down to even the rustic yet fallout inspired light fixtures over the doorways. It was big enough to comfortably fit any room or person you would reasonably want but not too big to where it screamed 'I have money to flex.' Though, given how this would probably cost a couple million in my time it was definitely outside anything I would ever have been able to afford. That's not even considering how much land is part of the property.
Standing ten feet in front of the home was someone else, another machine, but taking on the appearance of a maid. Sky blue maid outfit, check. Literal porcelain plated skin? Cool. Fiber optic hair that seemed to trickle with subtle lights as if it were mimicking rain? Awesome!
She was also the only one with a mouth and expressive eyes, but still had a tint of light behind her glass orbs.
My current rancher friend turned off our ride, getting out as I followed to speak with the caretaker, leaving the basket of fruits behind. "Is he awake?"
"He should be now." She relayed back as I watched her mouth pieces move in conjunction with her circular cheek motors. Definitely robotic, but man she had such subtle movements in her face that made her seem so alive. "He wanted to get a little more rest before our guest arrived."
"I'll leave you to it then." With a tip of his hat my steel faced companion went back to the jeep buggy and without a sound to disturb the night drove off.
"Welcome." The maid gave a small bow towards me with a warm smile. "My name is LIS, Logic Interface System. Please feel at home, and should you need anything simply request it."
Walking ahead of me, the screen mesh in front of the door quickly slid into the wall before she grabbed the front handle and opened the rustic metal door for me, all while acting as the perfect maid.
The lights were slowly brightening inside the main entrance I stood in, making sure I wasn't suddenly blinded but giving me plenty to see my way around. While I half expected maybe to have it be super futuristic inside it was homey. The living room adjacent to the entrance had some nice carpet, a practical shoe rack with a mounted brush on the side of the door, and I could see a spiral staircase leading to the upper floor with some string lights woven into the railing.
"Would you like anything to drink?" Liz asked as I took off my shoes to follow the standard of the home. "I already have some wonderful belgian inspired hot chocolate on the stove and Irish creme to add."
I would have turned the offer down, but the fact that she already had the exact kind of drink I would want to warm myself up with brewing I couldn't say no. "That sounds wonderful."
"Then please, allow me to bring you a cup while you rest in the living room. The master of the house should be out shortly to greet you."
Nodding as I was dumbfounded by seeing all the choices in design and decor that I loved, I made my way into the living room to enjoy the plush feeling of the high quality carpet through my socks. The wide couch looked comfy, but also foldable to either become a large bed or turn into the best pillow fort around. Taking a seat on the far end with a small table next to it, I noticed that while the wooden walls didn't need anything to further decorate their colors and texture, there were small hooks on it to signify that there should be photos or art hanging on them.
Odd.
A groaning yawn rumbled through the hallway, startling me because this was technically the first intelligent life form I was meeting. Unless some of the people here really were cyborgs.
The man, with strikingly similar build and height to the future version I saw of Ben, rounded the corner of the hall while rubbing the sleep from his eye. On his left arm, was an omnitrix, same one as future Ben's with how it grew with age. But as he stepped further into the living room's light, his hair was shorter and lighter colored, while his beard was trimmed shorter and better kept than his other counterpart's.
This Ben adjusted his navy blue wool sweater that did nothing to hide his impressive frame, before registering my presence. He finally seemed to wake up, really look at me before an amused smirk graces his face. "Well I'll be. It must have been a pretty big slip for you to end up here."
Wordlessly, Liz arrived with two large mugs, stepping up to Ben's side and giving him the larger one who accepted it as if it was routine.
"Thanks Liz."
She nodded, satisfied with her efforts before approaching me and handing off the drink with two hands. Cautiously, I accepted it with a thank you and moved to stand up to greet Ben because it seemed like the polite thing to do.
"Don't trouble yourself." Ben told me, and with a single hand he hoisted the back of a nearby recliner before moving it across from myself. He sank into it, taking a quick sip before flipping out a side table from the seat to rest his drink on.
I dared to drink through the dollop of cool whip on the top of my drink, and had to fight the urge to guzzle it down. It was exactly how I would've made it for myself if I had the skill to pull it off.
"So." Ben began. "Just to clarify which possible version I'm dealing with, how long have you 'been' Ben."
He knew, and since he already knew I didn't restrain my response. "Coming up on two months in a little bit."
"Hm." He wasn't surprised, expecting the answer and making me think I wasn't talking to future 'Ben'. "Let me take a guess. Before that, you were in a normal world about to start a proper life, and all you knew of the omnitrix is that it was from a cartoon."
Nodding, a little stunned from the quick summary, I just drowned my silence in taking another big sip. He did the same, both of us ok with the comfortable silence as we stirred over the information in our heads.
There was no doubt about it, this was my future. Or, a future where I stayed in Ben's body, and he could tell that I had come to that conclusion as well.
We were practically the same person after all. Which meant we could skip all the nonsense of 'you're me and I'm you' gag.
"Mars huh?" I looked out the window towards the landscape. Man it was such a perfect view. I had good taste in location.
"Wanted my own personal sandbox." The man in a proper man's body replied. "Getting to craft a whole landscape of where I lived, without dealing with the hassle of having neighbors or a government to get on my back."
"So, the universe doesn't know you exist?"
"Oh they know." He didn't seem all too happy about that but he shrugged it off. "It's inevitable having to be an interstellar 'hero' with the omnitrix. I mean, before I even got to another planet word had spread about a young Earthling possessing it. But where I live, no one besides a very tight circle knows I live here, or even that I terraformed Mars. Man that was a project, between fixing the magnetosphere and getting the equipment on planet all while generating massive storms over the planet to keep any curious explorers away. Oh, and water is freaking expensive, especially when you want enough for a whole planet's ecosystem."
Even if he was rambling I was invested in the details. I wanted to know more, all the intricate parts and planning with the unexpected hurdles. But, as noted on the shelves housing a modest collection of blue-rays, we both loved our sci fi time travel content.
Knowing your own future wasn't always a good thing.
"Oh but you should see the garage." Yet we both loved to brag at times, as demonstrated by my older counterpart. "We got that TARDIS working eventually, but it's not really a TARDIS despite what we did to it. Close enough for us, and shockingly we don't actually use it super often. Sure, whenever I have to travel between worlds I do but we managed to get the more concerning spots in the galaxy their own heroes. Now it's more of an RV to use for fun trips."
Then he stopped, taking a longer gulp of his drink before slowing down. "Sorry, only so many people I can be this open too and the others have heard this maybe a hundred times. I know you've got questions, but that's as far as I think I should go into our personal life."
"But what about our other life?" I interjected. "What about, who we left? If there's a chance then-"
He silently rose a hand, politely keeping me from spiraling down a wormhole of what ifs. "The early years were the hardest. But, please believe me when I say that your old life isn't your only one. Moving on is-"
"And how am I just supposed to move on?!" I stood up, at the edge of either frustration or panic I couldn't tell but my heart was racing. "Our family, sure, I saw first hand how they could move on. Friends? Upset for a time yeah, but how could I ever move on from leaving the one person who was ready to share their whole life with mine and mine with hers without even a goodbye?!"
I suddenly realized that this house, this place, was much too big for one person. All the places where I would put photos, they were empty but still had signs that something goes there. Looking closer at the same arm that housed the omnitrix, I spotted a ring on his finger. "How, how did you-"
"This is our life now." He answered firmly. "I'm not happy with how things ended for our last one, but if you can't find happiness with where you're at you'll never get any better."
His words, I already knew they were true, I had come to similar conclusions already. I have been able to enjoy time with Gwen and Max, but this pit in my stomach, the hole in my heart, it's just getting bigger and nothing is filling it.
"I'm trying."
"And that's the key." He pointed towards me with his mug, as if that answered anything. "Every day is effort, it needs constant attention, and one day after doing it every day, you realize that you're strong enough to carry that."
Yes, ok, I understood that, but that didn't make things any easier. It probably never would, but it wasn't helping me now and I needed something to go off of.
"Then, do we ever find out if we left-"
"-Ah ah." He stopped me before I could ask, his shoulders sinking as he stared off towards that distant horizon. "That's something I can't answer, and something you should stop asking."
Abruptly he stood up, cracking his back with a few quick twists before finishing his drink swiftly. "What we should focus on is the immediate concern, your slipping."
So he knows what's happening to me, figures. "And how do I stop doing that?"
"Well, for one stop saying your previous name. You're Ben now, and you don't have to even be anything like the previous Ben, but you're new self is now your reality's Ben."
"So what, forget it?"
"You'll never forget it, but you'll have to keep it secret, and there will only be one time you can ever share it with someone. Ever, so that person has got to be pretty special to-"
"Stop with the pointed hinting and Doctor Who references."
"Look, it's not my fault that the longest running show with all the cosmic plots and time travel happens to have some similarities to real events. Especially if we keep getting involved with all of that stuff."
I don't know if I could exactly do as he said, but I would have to wouldn't I? Looking back up to him, I decided it was time to move on from the heavy stuff and maybe back to some curiosities I had that might not even be relevant to me. "So, speaking of Doctor Who, does that go the same or-"
"We buy it and make sure it doesn't turn out the same way." He assured me with a satisfied smirk. "I had years to think about how I would alter that show's direction."
Oh thank goodness, out of all the things at least I get to preserve the quality of my favorite show. Then, he paused, quirking a brow my way before wincing. Shaking his head with a sigh I was puzzled by his sudden reaction to, whatever. Maybe our version of Doctor Who wasn't as appreciated?
"What was that about?"
"Just, something you'll find out. Any other questions that I can answer while we have time?"
"Yeah." I pointed my thumb outside. "I get having your own personal robot servants, but are some of them part magic or cyborgs? Some are scarily human in personality."
He seemed ready to answer, before a voice whined out.
"Dad, who are you talking to?"
Just as my head was about to turn towards the source, something slipped out of my grasp, and I was suddenly lost.
For a moment, the adult Ben lingered his silent apology towards the spot I was just in, before addressing a different child in the room. "Just, talking to myself."
It happened again, that same falling sensation as I crashed onto the new surroundings I had ended up in. It was harsher this time, my footing stumbling as soon as I landed onto an uneven surface. Slipping to the side, I rolled down a slab of some kind of rock as I was tumbling down its side until crashing into the pile of dust and rubble below.
That could be bad. Assessment time, could I move? Yes, but it hirt. How bad? Not bad enough to suggest anything more than bruises. What about any cuts or other things I wouldn't notice right away? I had to get up and inspect myself.
Pulling myself back up, I first noted that it wasn't rocks, but old and broken concrete mixed with shattered rebar. If I fell too far to that one spot, I would have been speared through.
Checking myself over, I was glad to have every part of me together. A little banged up, but I've had worse. But I guess since I wasn't wearing shoes when this 'slip' happened I no longer had them. When I looked up to see where I had landed, I regretted it. There were battered structures all around me, buildings falling apart, the ground cracked and shifted, with dark plumes of smoke shooting into the smoggy sky.
These weren't just ruins of a city on Earth, this was a battlefield.
Something screeched overhead, prompting me to duck my head and find immediate cover. Not long after an explosion rang out, detonating in the street I was just in.
Ok, I needed a more stable body.
Clicking the button of the omnitrix, I was ready to turn into Diamondhead before someone grabbed my arm and spun me around.
They were an armored individual, wearing a very familiar get up, specifically for one that was 'pulling their punches'. As soon as his armored triangular visor faced me, the helmet collapsed into his space grade suit before I was left with the appearance of Tetrax.
"Ben?" He uttered in a startled cry, his chipped and scuffed complexion staring over me. "How are you here?!"
Another timeline? But I didn't even say my name!
"I don't know how long I'll be here or if I can help-" I cut him off before he could ask any questions. "-but if I can I need you to tell me where it went wrong."
His stone gaze narrowed over me, still trying to make sense while also reflecting back on what happened. "You're the other one. The one who was stuck as Ben for months. I thought we got you home?"
Home? I can go back?
"That didn't happen for me." I shortened any kind of explanation, trying to get answers. "So how did it happen on your end? You sent me home?"
Another high pitched cry rang out, Tetrax punching into the Earth to have a crystalline shield protect us as a building collapsed from another unseen attack. "You had come looking for me, trying to find answers to what happened to you. You spoke of the creator of the omnitrix and how to find him, and when we did we eventually managed to find a way to send you back and retrieve Ben from the void."
Now that the immediate danger had passed, he stood up and extended his hand to assist me in getting up as well.
"Azmuth hesitated to allow Ben to keep the omnitrix, but your many stories of the accomplishments he should have had allowed him to give Ben a chance."
He then looked up darkly towards the sky filled with smog and ash, glaring at what might be lurking within. "Unfortunately, because you had to handle those battles that Ben would have, by the time Ben was back in his body he had not received the proper experience to handle the dangers that immediately followed us."
"Ben-" I swallowed a lump in my throat, staring at the war torn planet I used to call home, that we were supposed to protect. "-Ben lost?"
"Murdered, and the omnitrix taken." Tetrax seethed, before looking down to my wrist. "But with you back, we have a chance to set things right."
This? This might be even beyond me. But, if it's my fault the world is in this mess then I should help put it right. "Well, while I'm here."
"Good answer." Tetrax walked over to hoist up a bag he had dropped earlier to help me. I followed, careful not to step on anything sharp now that I had no shoes.
"How are you here anyways?" Tetrax asked as we walked, keeping our eyes on the skies in case another unseen threat nearly bombed us.
"I'm still trying to figure that out." Agh, I needed to find a new pair of shoes fast. "But what about the me you sent back? How did you send me home-"
"-AGH!" I fell again, and this time my foot suffered for it. Landing right on my butt, I nursed the sharp pain on my foot. Cautiously, I took off my sock where a sizable gash was on the bottom, and saw a shallow cut on my foot. Ok, this wasn't too bad, just need to patch this up with something and-
-and see that I was currently in a void of space, chunks of large rocks floating over the ground. Wait, ground? Yes, space was up, gravity didn't seem to work, but there was a lot of ground under us. Was gravity broken here?
Testing my theory with my hand over the omnitrix, I rolled off the rock and gently began floating down to the ground with only some mild spinning. After a minute, I was now Earthbound with at least some invisible force to make sure I didn't float away so long as I didn't jump too hard.
Now where was I? The stars above were familiar, so that had to mean Earth right? What happened this time?
I didn't ask it aloud but the universe decided to answer, and that was from a sudden eruption of violent drumming followed with screaming chants from the void. A portal tore itself near me, and out stepped a man who stumbled through it with violent shakes. Their long black hair, their greasy skin, and an unstable look in their eyes.
If I had to guess, this was a future version of Kevin wearing rags over his bones.
"Finally." He spoke aloud to himself. "We made it Ben. No thanks to yoru whining."
He hasn't even looked my way yet, the man having gone crazy overtime. I wished it would stay that way, but when his eyes focused on the reality in front of him he gasped in horror seeing me.
"No, no wait." He held up his hands in mercy. "Please don't send us back! We can't stand it any longer!"
"You're Kevin, right?" I asked, hoping to get some reason from him. "What happened to you-"
"Shut up Ben!" He snarled, before snapping his eyes back to me in absolute fear. "Not you, the real Ben I mean. Stuck with me here."
He gave a few taps to his temple, leaning his whole body to the side as he got a better look at me. "You're not the same."
"What are you talking about?!"
"Me." A gruff voice, devoid of life spoke up. He walked right past me wearing a long tattered cloak, an omnitrix prominently glowing on his wrist. Only, there was a crack in its faceplate.
"Stop!" Kevin begged as he fell to his knees. "I'll do anything!"
"You said you would stay there." The man held his hand out, bringing his fingers together in front of himself. "You lied, and you had too many chances anyways."
His voice, it wasn't like the first future Ben, or even the one like mine, but it was close enough that I realized this was another future.
"No, no please!" Kevin slammed his head into the ground. "Just kill me!"
"Your pleading won't sway me." This Ben uttered as a spark of green cracked out from the omnitrix, traveling through his arm and to his fingertips as he prepared to snap. "Your wish just happens to align with your fate."
Kevin let out a whimper, a quivering smile stretching over his lips before a chorus of anguish bellowed from his body, as he was atomized.
I watched, too stunned to speak, as I questioned how or why this Ben would be so ruthless.
"I'm tired." He answered, as if he could hear my thoughts. "I can, and I'll tell you what happened. I don't keep much company besides my own these days."
The scenary bent around us, dust and stone reshaped by some shifting gravitational pulls to conjure two chairs. One for him, and one for me. As I sat down, I saw that my feet were now back in a pair of brand new shoes. Did he do that too?
"Yes." He answered, and I got a look at the heavy bags under his face. "To start this story off, things changed when Ghost Freak couldn't let go of the past."
"He did this?"
"No, I did."
Ben, or me, destroyed the world?
"Ghost Freak said all he wanted was his home back, and I was helping, but he was going too far. I tried to reason with him again, like I was always able to, but while I was doing that Gwen and Max went behind my back to try and stop him. They were killed, leaving me to deal with Ghost Freak alone."
So what, a stale mate? Earth was in the crossfire?
"No, I saved Earth." This Ben leaned his chin on his hand, his vacant stare unnerving me. "But I learned my lesson. No second chances, no mercy for the wicked. I didn't realize how many wicked people there were at first, but eventually I got rid of them all. Now it's just the innocent that remain, until they become wicked too. They always do."
What was he spouting? I don't remember Ben reasoning with Ghost Freak before or how this could have-wait, this wasn't a Ben.
This was me, me who had stopped showing mercy.
"I still have some." He answered, lazily gesturing to where I was. "You're still alive, aren't you?"
I, I couldn't stay here. I didn't want to, and just as I pleaded I was taken away yet again, my grip on reality slipping until I caught myself.
There was a numbness over me I hadn't noticed before that was building, each time I slipped into a new reality, or timeline, whatever it was made me feel more off than before.
"Happy birthday Grandpa!"
What? Looking up, I saw Ben, Gwen, and Grandpa Max, all sitting next to the Rust Bucket. A cake was placed before them, Max about to slice into it. This wasn't a future this time, it was a present.
I didn't belong here, they had their own lives to worry about and I had my own. I just wanted to go home.
Quickly catching myself from that same disjointed falling sensation, I gasped, something was wrong with me. I didn't hurt anywhere but that building sensation was growing larger, overtaking my sense of reality.
No, it made me too aware. I was starting to feel the streams of time running between my own literal grip on reality, weakening it, making me try and catch another to prevent myself from falling between it all.
So caught up in this new terrifying outlook on what made up the cosmos and my place in it, I barely registered that someone called out my name.
My name.
I stripped my perception away from all of that and focused on where I was, who was calling out to me, and what I was doing. I was at my apartment, the one I was renting before I woke up as a fictional ten year old.
Just on the other side of the front door, I heard a knocking.
Throwing myself up from the futon I occasionally napped on, I ran to the front door an looked to see who it was that was beckoning me.
Her, it was really her! I missed her so much that I didn't want to wait any longer to embrace her. My hand snapped towards the handle, and I slipped again.
Song to listen to while reading: Can you Hear The Music -by Ludwig Göransson
I was somewhere else now, a distant memory that strummed out to me, and just as I took another step I was somewhere else. Another life, another alternative, another time, all in one place under my feet.
I tried running, trying to find a place where I wasn't falling into another as each step made me aware of another note. I saw creations culminating, destructions developing, the possibilities and all its impossibles.
My grip was waning now, my feet continually stumbling onto new ground, with a different sky each blinking moment. I tried running as the seams of space were pressed against one another in fast, repetitive motions, the worlds I saw becoming flashes of moments as I tried to get my bearings on at least one of them.
Faster, faster they played, each one calling out with their own sound, their own tune, all so different but the orchestra of eternity was reaching my ears, my soul. Slipping further into the call of an awakening song, I was still, ever falling and never leaving the same place. I was everywhere, everywhen, hearing every part of the song as they all competed for my attention.
The instruments of every reality continued to rise, all that is, was, and ever could be resounding in rhythm. They kept calling out to me, all demanding my attention, my command, and if I didn't listen they grew louder.
Eternity was calling to me, and I was falling into its grasp. The moment was arriving, I was the moment, the chorus of all singing out and I heard it all. Every instrument was at my grasp, every note and melody crashing over me, and the music was heard.
Even that one, demanding my attention amongst infinity.
It didn't know my name, but it sang it, directed it at me.
'Ben'
That's what it said, and it was familiar, as if I knew that name.
'Ben!'
It came from a song I knew, a voice I knew.
'BEN!'
I know them.
End music
"GWEN!" I screamed out as I finally caught hold, stumbling back into reality as arms wrapped immediately around me. I was in a place I had been before, the headquarters of future Ben.
I suddenly remembered how to breathe, how to be mortal again. Gasping inwards, I coughed out as if this was the first time I had ever used a pair of lungs. Every motion I made was deliberate, every function of my body starting over as I held tight to this place.
Once I was steady in both body and mind, I hugged Gwen back, ever grateful for her intervention.
"Ugh!" Gwendolyn collapsed nearby, holding her head as she was helped up by future Ben in his human form and an older Grandpa Max. Below her, were many spell books, and a magic circle with symbols burned into the metal floor under her, still steaming.
"We found you." Gwen muttered next to me. "I can't believe we found you."
"We didn't." Gwendolyn swayed, but was back to standing up on her own. "We put as much magic into that spell, but we never caught a trace of him. Where were you Ben? I thought you stopped existing all of a sudden?"
Where was I? Here, everywhere, all at once. Shaking my head as I recalibrated my own thoughts, I didn't have an answer for what exactly I experienced. "I, don't really know. It's all overwhelming to try and think about."
After a moment, when I felt ready to, I stood back up from the floor, relishing in the solid ground under me. I was still here, with people I knew, at least one of them really.
"Thanks again Gwen." I gave her one more hug. "I needed that."
"You're sure you're ok?" Future Ben approached, putting his hands to his hips as he seemed genuinely concerned for us. "We really thought you were gone for good."
"Yeah, yeah I'm ok now." Letting go of Gwen, I inspected my shoes to make sure they were still there and there was no cut on my foot. "Yep, I'm good."
"You sure there's nothing we can't do for you kids?" The even older Grandpa Max came over checking on us.
Max, our Max is back where we left him. Today was his birthday. "Just one thing. What would you have wanted for your sixtieth birthday?"
The man gave a short, heartwarming chuckle before kneeling down to the two of us. "Getting to spend time with the two of you is already the greatest gift I could ask for."
That sounded good to me, and looking up towards the ones capable of getting us back, Ben tried to hide the guilt on his face before looking over to Gwen. "What do you think? Should we do something with Grandpa after sending these two back?"
"What do you mean we?" Gwendolyn teasingly replied. "I'm the one who can do the time travel spell."
Ah, that, I swallowed the dryness in my mouth as I remembered how that went last time. I hope I can keep myself together for at least one more trip back.
Sitting around the campfire, a belly full of cake, and a pleasant night with no aliens or other monsters interrupting it. Just being able to sit here with Max and Gwen, was enough at the moment.
"-and I said 'what, and waste all these ingredients?'." Max finished his story, getting a good laugh out of Gwen and myself. The man then joined us in the revelry, our laughs lasting for half a minute.
Gwen threw her paper plate into the fire, wiping her hands on a napkin as her chuckles died out. "Only you would try and use a monster you just defeated for your cooking."
"Oh?" Max loomed over her with accusation, and still a playful smile. "What are you saying about my cooking Gwen?"
The girl shut her mouth, hoping that I would somehow swoop in to save her as she quietly begged me with sad puppy eyes. I purposely ignored her, pretending like that speck of ember was the most interesting thing in the world.
"Traitor." She mumbled.
"Well I don't know about you two." Max started with a content tone. "But this is probably one of the best birthdays I ever had. Thank you both."
"You're welcome Grandpa." Gwen gave the man a quick hug as he got up.
"Let's let the fire burn itself out." He declared as he stretched out his weary body. "After that, we'll get some shut eye before going to our next destination."
"Sure thing." I grabbed my roasting stick, jabbing at the logs in order to help break them up to burn faster. Today had certainly been long, and I was definitely tired.
I reflected on the day, the many faces I had seen, many of them just versions of the one I had now. All of them had such different lives, the slightest changes provoking the most drastic outcomes.
Above all else, I discovered that my presence here was even more unstable than I had realized. Magic already threatened to untether me from this body, but what awaited beyond was not something I could forget easily. If I tried to fix or undo what had happened to me, I would likely slip back into what I had experienced.
I tried not to focus on it, how my perception of the universe and its many possibilities. My glimpse into the cosmic forces had opened my mind, made me listen.
I could still hear it, the orchestra of realms, the music of infinity, the call of eternity. No words could replicate what I had been part of, what I continue to be as its melody was ever present in everything, encompassing all that is, was, or ever will be.
I was still falling, and I don't think I would ever stop.
None of the timelines featured are guaranteed to be the outcome of this Ben. These are just a few of the endless possibilities. I had some fun of course exploring all these alternatives.
Truth be told, I could never pick just one future to visit on. I might have cut some others short but I wanted to have the chapter focus more on SI-Ben seeing just how much there really is to eternity and if it's worth prying further into asking himself why he's here and how he could get home.
Here is a list of the timelines visited in order:
-Canon Ben 10,000
-Future SI-Ben still in Ben's body
-Future where Ben got his body back from SI-Ben
-Future where SI-Ben became a ruthless and unforgiving "hero"
-Canon episode ending
-SI-Ben's original life
-the rest of infinite
Discord Invite Code: S46dcywpfv
REMINDER! I won't be using any content created outside of the original Ben 10 show. No content from Alien Force, Ultimate Alien, Omniverse, or reboot will be used. That includes aliens, abilities, plot points, lore, and just about anything not seen in the OG show.
Some1call4MR-E: I mean, Kai as a furry did make sense. We're approaching July now in the story, I'm going to feature a fourth of July fireworks moment. Summer started in early/mid May for SI-Ben.
Dtonebu: I don't plan on going much further than OG Ben 10 for this story. Maybe an after chapter or two just to follow up on his new life, but no Alien Force content.
Togo: Maybe in the future, but not at the moment.
Murderleo: If you're talking about Kai getting a crush on Ben in this story, then no, her compliment was just a compliment. Nothing more.
Spades231: No Benwolf in the omnitrix right now.