Prologue

Vilgax tackled the big insect down, causing a big explosion as both aliens fell down to the ground. The warlord got easily back up as Stinkfly struggled to get out of his grasp, unable do anything as the alien towering him caught him by his shirt.

"I grew tired of this!" said the squid-like being, raising his hand to the Omnitrix. His index glowed red and, as he touched the symbol, Stinkfly immediately reverted into Ben.

"Hey! How did you do that?!" said Ben in a surprised and (mostly) annoyed tone.

He thought this new bad guy would beat him down to a pulp after turning him back to his human form, and recklessly made a defiant face to show he wasn't afraid of fighting. He however did not expect the confused look his opponent was showing.

Vilgax seemed... unsure. Which was weird, considering one second ago he was wiping the floor with the young human (or rather, human-turned-alien). The green creature brought Ben closer to his face, observing the boy while holding him with both arms, his hold on him suddenly more gentle.

"What? Can't believe a 10 year-old was able to kick your butt like this?" he teased with a cocky smile. "Okay, let me down you big alien jerk! I'm not gonna let you have this watch!" he said as he shook his arms and legs in an attempt to get Vilgax to drop him.

Vilgax wasn't minding what Ben did. He however looked at the child very closely, as if there was something on Ben that picked his interest. It could've been the watch, had he been looking at Ben's wrist.

"Impossible..." he muttered, his angry features disappearing from the visible part of his face. "You... what's your name? How old did you say you were? Who was with you inside that vehicle earlier?" he asked in a hurried tone.

"How does it matter to you?" responded Ben.

Vilgax seemed to roll his eyes and took his hand to the watch. A green burst of electricity came out of it as Vilgax touched it, making him drop the child and sending him flying to the wall far behind him. Unfazed, he stood up again, walking towards Ben.

"It appears the Omnitrix has already merged with your own DNA." he said as he caught a fleeing Ben from the back of his shirt.

"I, uh, don't suppose that means you're gonna let me go, does it?" asked Ben, starting to worry.

"Hardly, especially now that I have a theory to test."

"Huh?"

"Tell me, child, what is your name? And where are you from?" Vilgax asked. Something was really off with the boy, he seemed... too familiar to someone he knew, that he lost a long time ago. Ben struggled to free himself, being held by both arms, weirdly gentler than before.

"Let me go! Argh, Grandpa Max! Gwen! Help!" Ben called, out of options. He dreaded the look of bewilderment on Vilgax's face that soon switched to anger.

"Max? As in, Max Tennyson?!" he hissed. "Max Tennyson is your grandfather?"

Ben gulped down, shaking his head in denial. No way this guy got to know anything about his family, and he wasn't gonna let himself be taken away either.

"What do you want from him, you big alien jerk?! Let my family out of this! You want the Omnitrix? Well I'm not gonna let you have it. Deal with it, octo-face!"

"We don't have time for this." Vilgax said as he brought Ben closer to his chest, before looking for something inside his armor's pocket. He took out an oddly shaped purple spray bottle out of it and shook it before aiming at Ben's face. "I didn't think I would have to use this someday, but it's a good thing I kept it on me." he said as he sprinkled the content on the human's face.

"Wha- Uhh... Wha...t..." Ben weakly mumbled.

He felt dizzy and, as Vilgax's grasp loosened, he fell asleep in the warlord's arms. Vilgax held him close, eyeing the child.

"I have to make sure you won't escape before I figure out who you are." he said as he walked back to his mace-like ship. "But don't worry, if we're lucky, we might both get something out of this." he added as he brushed the boy's hair. "Max Tennyson, if you're involved with this, I won't let you take away what rightfully belongs to me. Not again."

He entered the ship, entering the coordinates back to the Chimerian Hammer. Carefully putting Ben upon his lap as he got seated, he waited as they flew away from the wasteland that used to be the town. Maybe soon enough, that town won't be the only location erased from the map, if Earth is destroyed. It will be up to Ben to decide what to do with the planet once they're done.

He looked at the child softly snoring, his earlier bantering almost being unimaginable. If Vilgax was right, Ben needed a long explanation when he woke up. If he wasn't who Vilgax expected him to be, it won't be much of a problem. He'll still have the Omnitrix and a hostage at worst. It would be interesting to see what Earth would do if one of their own was taken. Vilgax knew how it felt, and was curious to see if this dirt planet would even bother saving Ben.

He went on Earth looking for the Omnitrix, but didn't expect potentially finding out more. It didn't matter if he was injured along the way, this would be all worth it, especially if he gave Max Tennyson a taste of his own medicine. He wasn't letting go of his grudge against the old man.

Not after what he did to the ruler.

He growled as he remembered the anger, the pain, the regrets he had when he lost the most precious thing he had, all to Max's blind loyalty to Plumbers and inability to care for anything than his own side of things. Vilgax would attempt to give the former Magister what he deserved by the time this mission was completed. It was the least he could do after years of hopelessly looking for the boy, now was his chance to either move on, or get even with the old bastard.

He looked down as he felt Ben moving, and smiled as the child seemingly tried to get more comfortable upon the warlord's lap. This boy seemed so peaceful like this, unaware of the incoming storm. He didn't want to wake the boy yet, although he desired his revenge over the Tennyson family now more than ever. A simple test would either confirm or dispel his doubts. For the moment, he needed to find a secure and silent place to discuss the situation with Ben.

Nearing the Chimerian Hammer, he entered a key code to allow access. Getting out of the tinier spaceship, he walked in direction of the sick bay, still holding Ben close to him.

Sooo, apparently, this was in my drafts for a while and I don't even remember for how long (seems recent though). I'm not sure if I could make this AU work but we'll see.