Welcome reader, to Child of the Omnitrix! This is the first fan fiction I've ever posted on this website, so I hope it'll be a good impression. Also, I think it'd be a good idea to quickly say why the rating is K+. I use mild cursing ("crap" and "damn" mostly) and later in the story, there will be some likely minor violence, with the possible death of characters. (Not sure on that yet though.) Nothing super gruesome or something, but I think it's fair to note what to expect from this story.

Anywho, I'll end this segment so you can start reading. Thank you!

Ben 10: Alien Force. Season 2, episode 4. "Save the last dance."

**Prologue**

The sky was dark with little, twinkling stars scattered throughout. It was a cool, crisp night, and it seemed like everything would be quite ordinary on a calm night like this. But of course, ever since Ben Tennyson had put the Omnitrix back on not long ago, nothing was normal in Bellwood.

Gwen Tennyson, a fifteen-year-old girl, and her friends, Kevin Levin and Julie Yamamoto, had just watched something bizarre occur right in front of their very eyes.

Kevin had just smashed open a metal dome that a Necrofriggian had built right outside of Bellwood. But this wasn't just any ordinary Necrofriggian, this was Ben Tennyson, a "protector" of the universe, currently in one of his alien transformations he named, "Big Chill."

Something weird had been going on with Ben lately, he didn't totally seem like his normal self. Every night for the last few days, he would turn into Big Chill on impulse against his will. He'd then go on a rampage throughout Bellwood, doing things like consuming metal and gulping lava.

When he would transform back into a human, he never remembered anything, and would just find himself beside a ditch in the ground, oblivious to anything he had just done.

Ben's girlfriend, Julie, had informed him of his unusual behaviors and was investigating for him to find out why this was happening. She'd observe him from a distance whenever he transformed into Big Chill, and noted down the actions he did accordingly. She did this for two nights straight, but both times, she never figured out why Big Chill was doing this, since those both times he escaped her. The first time by phasing through a brick wall, and the second time by flying through Monongahela Foundry.

Julie finally called Kevin and Gwen to help her when she couldn't keep up with him the second time. They locked on his Omnitrix coordinates, allowing them to find Ben's location. They eventually found Big Chill sitting atop a giant, metal dome, that looked like it had been built by Big Chill himself. However, it turned out that Big Chill wasn't building something lethal to destroy Bellwood; it was actually a giant nest. Big Chill had laid eggs!

It sounds impossible since Ben is male and always shapeshifts into male alien species respectively, but Necrofriggians reproduce asexually. There is no such thing as a male and female of their species. Every Necrofriggian reproduce naturally by themselves every eighty years. And Ben, being able to shapeshift into a Necrofriggian, apparently had to perform this behavior.

Once Gwen, Kevin, and Julie found this suspicious metal dome, Kevin ran up and punched into the top of it, which busted a hole in the nest. After getting sprayed in "maggot goo," bubble-shaped eggs floated out and into the air.

They hovered motionlessly for a few seconds, before morphing into small, cute, chubby Necrofriggians that made the sweetest purring and chirping sounds.

The babies flew over and clustered around Big Chill to greet him, before flying off into the moonlight. However, the littlest one, the runt, hesitated to fly away with its siblings and just hovered idly in front of Big Chill.

"Go on," encouraged Big Chill, the baby hovering above his hands as he raised them. "Fly..."

The little runt then gathered the courage to follow its siblings and flew away after them, not to be seen again for a very long time.

After that, Ben changed back into his regular teenage-boy form in a bright green flash. Gwen, Kevin, and Julie then explained the actions he had just done since Ben once again had no memory of had just occurred moments ago. Once they told him about the whole situation, Julie took a very embarrassed and dumbfounded Ben Tennyson home on her moped.

Big Chill's nesting instincts never took over Ben again since during the incident, and Ben remained his normal self, continuing to fight crime and save lives with the power of the Omnitrix.

But what would have happened if that runt hadn't flown away when it did? What if it stayed with Ben, and refused to leave him like it should've by instinct?

Perhaps there was some reason in particular that the runt actually couldn't leave Ben and follow its siblings even if it wanted to. A reason serious enough that it would never survive to maturity in the wild? Ben would then have to make a very hard decision; whether to take it under his care as its parent while still managing the responsibilities he carried as a hero, or to neglect the runt for it to surely perish within a day. And if Ben did make the choice to adopt the alien child, how would it affect the future events that occurred throughout his life, and what different experiences would it give Ben? Would it maybe change him as a person as well? But perhaps the most perplexing question would be who the alien would become as a being under Ben's example...

Chapter 1

"The One That Couldn't"

Thirteen of Big Chill's newly hatched babies had started to fly away, the little aliens purring and chirping sweetly as they began their journey up into the endless galaxy of stars. Gwen, Julie, and Kevin were standing on top of Big Chill's nest, watching in awe and perplexity, Kevin being probably the most baffled and "weirded-out" of the three.

However, as thirteen of newly-hatched Necrofriggians flew up into the sky, the fourteenth one, the littlest baby that was only half the size of the other Necrofriggians, didn't follow them. It simply hovered in front of Big Chill, chirping in an anxious manner.

The little Necrofriggian was afraid and unsure of leaving out on its own, and didn't want to join its siblings on the long trip they were taking to their home planet, Kylmyys.

Something else was clearly very wrong with the little runt. It had a much more difficult time staying in the air compared to the rest of its siblings, who were almost effortlessly flying without an issue as if they had been soaring for many years. It flapped its wings vigorously in a struggle, barely able to keep itself in the air. The runt was slowly sinking to the ground, despite the effort of its tiny, delicate wings.

"Go on," encouraged Big Chill, putting his hands under the little Necrofriggian. "Fly..."

Big Chill raised his hands a little higher, which caused the little alien to hover higher itself. It turned to watch its siblings fly further and further away, still hovering in the air above Big Chill's hands. The runt continued struggling to fly, flapping its wings rapidly and vigorously, wobbling around in the air, unable to remain steady.

The runt, however, felt prone to following its instinct like all the other Necrofriggian hatchlings, and instinctively knew that it wasn't supposed to stay with its parent. It mentally debuted whether it should start following its flock of siblings like it was expected to, or stay with Big Chill. The baby seemed to of already realized that it wasn't as strong as the rest of its siblings, and knew that it wouldn't be able to keep up with them, and was leaning towards the latter.

"Fly, little one," encouraged Big Chill once again, beginning to get a bit impatient, not seeming to acknowledge the fact that the runt was struggling to fly. "Go to Kylmyys where you belong."

The little Necrofriggian chirped in distress, still refusing to follow its siblings into space. The runt glided down from Big Chill's hands, and when it did, it was so unstable that it nearly crashed right into the ground, barely stopping its plummet by catching the wind under its wings. When it landed, it didn't fold its wings into a cloak like other Necrofriggians do. Its wings just drooped down weakly onto the ground, as the little chill sat there motionless. One could assume that the runt simply didn't yet know how to do that particular behavior.

"What's going on?" asked Julie, turning to Kevin in confusion, hoping for an answer from him.

"Not sure.." replied Kevin uncertain, looking at the situation they were beholding, his eyes squinting and his arms crossed over his chest. "That hatchling should be outta here already. I've heard of some rare cases when a Necrofriggian won't follow its natural instinct, but I never thought I'd actually see it for myself. Frankly, I didn't believe it."

"What happens if the baby doesn't leave?" asked Gwen in concern with a raised eyebrow, her hands on her hips.

Big Chill stood there staring at the little Necrofriggian on the ground. He seemed just as perplexed as Kevin, Gwen, and Julie was.

"Short answer," replied Kevin, looking at Gwen. "I don't think that hatchling will last long. Not sure on that, but it's a good guess. Wanna hear the long answer?"

"I'm thinking I might want to take the short answer," said Gwen, showing an expression of grimace. "Although if Ben doesn't change back soon, I think I might find out anyway."

Fortunately, Gwen never did have to see the answer for herself. Big Chill was suddenly engulfed in a brief flash of green light. Once the light faded, a very confused Ben Tennyson stood there. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind, once again having zero memory of the events that had just occurred; everything seemed hazy.

"Wha...what's going on?" mumbled Ben as if he had just woken from a nap, his hand on his forehead. "What happened?"

Suddenly, Ben heard something chirping below. He looked down, and when he saw it, he was dumbfounded. He saw the tiny, plump Necrofriggian sitting on the ground, looking up at him equally as baffled as he was.

The runt seemed perplexed about the fact that where its parent once stood, now stood a random teenage boy it had never seen before. However, although the little runt had no grasp on the concept of shapeshifting, it felt some kind of gut feeling that this unknown boy was, in fact, the same being, thus, still its parent.

Ben certainly didn't have a mutual knowledge.

"Aaand who's this, exactly?" asked Ben, taking several steps forward, his arms pointing at the little alien as he gazed at his friends for an answer.

Kevin, Gwen, and Julie slid down the metallic nest and walked up to Ben.

Gwen and Kevin exchanged looks, while Julie took out her notepad and flipped through several of the pages without saying a word. After a few moments, she looked up at Ben again.

"You might wanna sit down for this one," replied Julie, throwing the notepad behind her. It seemed it wouldn't be necessary to explain this situation.

I'm so grateful you read to the end of this first chapter! This is the first fanfiction I've ever posted and started on this website, and I want it to be a really good example of my skills and abilities!

In the next chapter, Gwen, Kevin, and Julie have to break the news to Ben that he is now a father to alien babies, similar to how they did in the canon episode. Ben will then have to make the tough decision; accept the child as his own, or neglect it for it to possibly perish? What will his choice be? Find out in the next chapter!

Also, what do you think is keeping the little runt from flying properly? That will also be revealed fairly soon! ;)