Chapter 1: Traveling Paradoxes

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary for life in the city of Bellwood. Four years had passed since that fateful day Diagon had been defeated and the heroes who took him down were now trying to enjoy an easy life of peace. Ben Tennyson, the wielder of the powerful alien device called the Omnitrix, and his friends were instated by the Plumbers, a secret organization of interstellar peacekeepers, and were officially honorary members. With the minimal threats in the galaxy being kept held down by the Plumbers and an alien race called the Highbreed, Ben and the others could relax and enjoy some down time, sans the occasional fire or bank robbery. Even Azmuth, the creator of the Omnitrix, was doing his part by inventing and upgrading the Plumbers' technology and weapons to make criminals easier to track and detain. What did this leave Ben with? Absolutely nothing to do, which meant almost complete boredom.

"This is ridiculous," the nineteen-year-old shape-shifter moped as he sat down on the couch in his apartment, which he currently shared with his cousin Gwen and former enemy/best friend Kevin. Kevin just rolled his eyes and looked over at Ben.

"Yeah, you've said that about five times already," the human-Osmosian hybrid griped before taking a sip from the soda can he was holding.

"I know, but I'm so bored I could kill something," Ben replied. Of course he wouldn't actually kill something, but the boredom was definitely killing him.

"You've also said that a few times too," Gwen said as she sat down next to her cousin, "But with alien crime being put down to a new low level, we just need to adjust. The Plumbers will give us a call if they need us." This just made Ben groan.

"That'll be...what? A hundred years from now?" Ben grumbled.

"Let it go, Tennyson," Kevin said, "I also know why you're down like this. It's still because of what happened between you and Julie, isn't it?" That struck a chord in Ben. It was true that he and Julie had just recently broken up. No one really knew what happened between the two, but their powerful bond seemed to gradually fade over the years until one day, the two of them decided to break up. No one was hurt, but Ben was naturally left depressed. After all, one never truly gets over their first break-up.

"Well, look on the bright side. At least you two are still friends," Gwen said as Ben stood up and prepared to head to the door.

"I appreciate you guys trying to help, but I just need some time alone right now," the shape-shifter said as he walked out the door and closed it behind him. After the door closed, Gwen looked over at her boyfriend.

"Think we were too hard on him?" Gwen asked. Kevin simply shrugged and went back to his soda.

"I'm sure he'll get over it eventually," Kevin said after taking another sip.

…

After walking out onto the roof, Ben sat down on one of the ledges and looked out over the city.

"Quite a lovely view, isn't it?" a cheerful British voice said from behind him. Ben looked back and saw a middle-aged man wearing a white lab coat standing there. Ben knew him immediately.

"I'm really not in the mood, Professor," Ben deadpanned as his ally approached him and knelt down, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I know that you're still depressed, Ben, but that's not why I'm here," Professor Paradox said in a serious tone, "I'm here because I have a mission of great importance for you." Ben scowled and turned to face the time-travelling professor.

"I already said I'm not in the mood, Professor," the shape-shifter replied in an irritated tone. Professor Paradox simply kept a stoic expression as he withdrew his hand from Ben's shoulder.

"I know that I must be dropping by at the wrong moment for you, Ben, but I highly recommend you hear what I have to say about this 'mission,'" Paradox explained, "I was exploring other dimensions when I came across one in particular. This dimension is about to enter a very dark point in time, Ben. I viewed that dimension's history and found that the event I am about to share with you has not happened once, but countless times. It seems that every 50,000 years, something invades it and appears to exterminate all sentient organic life." Hearing that something was about to happen, Ben looked the professor square in the eye.

"I get that sounds bad, but where do I come in on this?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I need you to use the Omnitrix to the best of your ability to help this dimension prepare for the next invasion," Paradox replied, "This mission will not be an easy one, and I'm sure that you've been looking for a challenge these past few months now that the Plumbers have upped their A-game." Ben's eyes widened at the professor's last statement.

"How did you know that?" He asked sharply.

"When I returned from that different dimension the other day, I noticed that when you were walking down the street, you had your left hand in your pocket," Paradox answered, "I recall that that means you're bored and have not had a good fight in some time. I also believe that this mission will not only alleviate that boredom, but should also help you overcome your depression."

Ben thought over the professor's proposal for a few moments. If he could go to another universe to help avert a crisis, then it might be a chance to finally be able to do some good with the Omnitrix again. But at the same time, he wasn't sure if the professor had told him everything about the mission. He suspected there might be a few catches that the professor wanted him to figure out. After running the scenarios in his head, Ben looked at Professor Paradox, who had never changed his stoic expression; as if he knew Ben's answer.

"If I'm going on this mission, I need to know a few things," Ben said.

"Fire away," Paradox replied, his face slightly changing to a grin.

"Am I going alone for this? Or will I be able to bring Gwen and Kevin with me?" the shape-shifter inquired.

"I'm afraid you'll need to go on this task alone," Paradox somberly answered, "I know you and your friends are quite an impressive team, but I remember that Gwen told me she wanted to try her hand at college some time ago. And Kevin said that he wanted to become a mechanic for the Plumbers, so he's also out of this challenge."

"Okay then, if I'm going to this other universe by myself, can I at least have Azmuth upgrade the new Omnitrix so I can stay as an alien longer?" Ben asked.

"Now that I can help you with," Paradox replied, "I told Azmuth the minute I returned to this dimension, and he has agreed to give the Omnitrix the necessary upgrades to prevent faulty transformations and allow you to stay in your alien forms longer."

Well, that's better than nothing I guess, Ben thought. After thinking the offer over once more, the hero had one more question.

"Did you tell anyone else about this task?" He asked.

"Just Azmuth and your Grandpa Max," Paradox answered with a smile. With that, Ben came to a decision.

"Alright, I'll do it," the shape-shifter said, knowing that he probably wouldn't be able to say otherwise, even if he wanted to.

"Excellent! Now come with me," Paradox said, "And don't worry about Gwen and Kevin. I left a note before I came up here." With that, Professor Paradox placed his hand on Ben's shoulder and they disappeared in a flash of light.

…

Inside a laboratory on a Plumber space station, Azmuth was busy tinkering away on his project, which involved calibrating a supercomputer for one of the Plumbers' navigation systems. The Galvan was putting the final touches on the supercomputer's newly calibrated systems when a flash of light appeared behind him. Turning around, Azmuth saw Professor Paradox, and Ben Tennyson, standing right behind him.

"Ah, Paradox, excellent timing," Azmuth greeted, "I'm almost done with this project. Just wait outside, and I'll be with you shortly." With a nod, Ben and Paradox walked outside the door and waited for Azmuth to finish his work. Ten minutes later, the Galvan came out on a levitating device that let the small alien look at both humans at eye-level.

"I assume that Paradox told you about this mission of his, right?" Azmuth inquired as he led both humans into the laboratory.

"More or less," Ben answered as the three stopped in front of an empty table.

"Good," the Galvan said as he leaped off the levitator and onto the table, walking over to Ben, "Then he just did half my work for me. All I need to do is just tweak the Omnitrix a bit and you shouldn't have any issues with it while you're on your mission." With a nod, Ben held out his left wrist, revealing the Omnitrix. Wasting no time, Azmuth asked Paradox to bring his tools over and immediately set to work on the Omnitrix. After a few minutes of tinkering, the Galvan set his tools aside and looked Ben in the eye.

"Alright, I've upgraded the Omnitrix so that you can last for at least three hours at a time in your alien forms, and if you should use up the energy, it should take at least four or five hours to recharge," Azmuth explained, "I also took the liberty of adding a new feature for you: the device will not cause any faulty transformations, so you shouldn't have to worry about anything going wrong when you change." Ben looked down at the device, and then gave Azmuth an appreciative nod.

"Thanks," Ben said as he looked at Professor Paradox, "Now that I'm all prepped for the mission, are there any last-minute tips that you've got for me?"

"A couple," Paradox replied, "First: the technology in this dimension is slightly different from this dimension's. It is powered by a substance its inhabitants call "Element Zero." It is a surprisingly stable element that is capable of producing artificial gravity and mass effect fields. However, like other fuels, it is also flammable, so try to avoid using certain forms like Swampfire or Heatblast around it. Element Zero can also be used to create biological implants, which can grant its host the power to wield dark energy."

"But the second bit of advice I have for you is this: in this dimension, everyone is not as merciful as you are, Ben. Most people in this dimension have killed before, and they won't hesitate to do so again. Even its greatest heroes have taken lives before to ensure protection of freedom." That statement caught Ben by surprise. He would be working alongside trained killers? In the past, Ben would have been really bothered by this. But he was older and wiser to the world now. But while he acknowledge some people deemed killing necessary, that didn't mean he would do it too. Determined not to let such thoughts trouble him, Ben shook the thought off, looked Paradox in the eye and grinned.

"Let's do this," he said, giving Professor Paradox a thumbs-up. Paradox smiled and nodded.

"Good luck to you, Ben," Paradox replied. With that, everything in Ben's vision disappeared in a flash of white, and then he suddenly lost consciousness.

…

When Ben came to, the nineteen-year-old shape-shifter slowly opened his eyes, looked up, and surveyed his surroundings. He was lying in a grassy field with some scattered trees; the sky was a burning shade of crimson, indicating either a sunrise or a sunset; and there was what appeared to be a small village or town-like establishment in the valley below. But what caught Ben's attention was not the natural scenery, but what was in the background. It almost looked like some kind of giant mechanical squid with red energy crackling around it. Around its legs were smoke and fire, which were coming from the town.

His hero instincts kicking in, Ben got up and ran down the valley toward the chaos unfolding inside it. When he got close enough, though, he had to hide behind a tree upon hearing the sound of gunfire. Looking out from behind his arboreal cover, Ben saw a group of people wearing various types of combat armor engaging in a fierce firefight against an unseen enemy. However, as the smoke and dust from a previous explosion settled, Ben saw the enemy. They appeared to be a group of human-sized robots, each one having a silvery-white coloring, a strong yet flexible metallic polymer structure forming the limbs, and a large flashlight-like eye on their expressionless faces. Ben also saw that each robot was also carrying a sort of combat rifle that fired green energy bolts… right at the humans. His eyes narrowing into a glare, Ben knew immediately what to do. Raising his left wrist, Ben activated the Omnitrix and turned on the alien dial.

"I can't believe I'm saying this again, but… IT"S HERO TIME!" Ben said as he turned the dial to the alien he wanted and slammed it down, initiating the transformation sequence.

…

Chapter one of my new crossover idea has been completed, yay! There are a couple things I want to establish before I go on, though: First, Ben won't be shouting out his aliens' names anymore. The reason why is because, since this story takes place four years after Ultimate Alien, I wanted Ben to mature a little bit, while still having a bit of his childish side. Oh, rest assured, he will tell everyone his aliens' names, but he won't do it every time he changes. Another thing is that, since Ben has recently broken up with Julie, he's still in the process of getting over it, so if he seems a bit aggressive or irritable in some parts, that's why. As always, read, enjoy, and review.

P.S., a special shout-out to Bigby the Big Bad Wolf for being my editor and co-writer for this story. I greatly appreciate the help.