This fic will be 200+ chapters, God willing.
Also, hope you're enjoying the Ben 10 arc.
Advanced chapters on [email protected]/Saintbarbido.
(General P.O.V)
The Rustbucket rolled into Aunt Vera's neighborhood just after noon, its old engine rattling against the heat waves rising off the asphalt. The sign at the entrance read "Sunny Grove Retirement Community – Where Every Day is Golden!" The bright, cheerful letters didn't match the strange stillness of the place.
Rows of pastel bungalows lined the narrow streets, all identical except for the color of their mailboxes. Old folks moved about slowly—some watering plants, others chatting on porches—but something felt… off. Their movements were too synchronized. Too deliberate.
Ben noticed it immediately.
When Aunt Vera came out to greet them, arms wide and smiling as usual, Grandpa Max and Gwen relaxed. Ben didn't. He kept glancing around, watching an elderly man across the road casually lift a full trash bin over his head with one hand.
"Uh, did anyone else see that?" he whispered, but Max was too busy hugging Vera, and Gwen was texting someone back home.
Lunch came and went in the tiny kitchen, Vera chatting about bingo nights and the neighbor's dog. Ben barely touched his sandwich. The hairs on his neck stood on end when the same man he'd seen earlier—Old Man Marty—walked past the window, glanced in, and smiled with lips that didn't quite move right.
That night, Ben pretended to sleep.
He slipped out of the guest room, crept along the wooden porch, and hid behind a hedge facing Marty's house. The lights inside danced oddly, like a bad projection. Then, through the window, Ben saw it: Marty, standing still in front of a mirror, eyes glowing faintly yellow. His mouth opened wide—too wide—and a thin, dark tongue darted out, snatching a fly midair. He chewed. Swallowed. Then smiled at his reflection.
Ben's stomach turned.
He reached for the Omnitrix but stopped, the memory of Alien X flashing behind his eyes—the endless void, the screaming faces, Loth being torn apart. His hand froze above the dial.
That's when the voice hit him.
"Ben. Can you hear me? "
Ben spun around, heart hammering. The voice wasn't coming from anywhere—it was in his head.
"Who—what—hello?!"
"Calm down. It's me. Loth. "
Ben's breath caught. "That's not funny. You're— You're gone!"
"Not exactly. I'm inside the Omnitrix. Long story. But listen—whatever you're seeing out there isn't normal. You need to be careful. "
Ben stumbled backward, eyes wide. "This isn't happening."
Marty's head snapped toward the window.
"Ben," Loth warned, "you're about to be—"
The curtain tore aside. Old Man Marty was there, eyes glowing bright yellow now, skin rippling like water.
Ben yelped and bolted.
He jumped onto a parked golf cart, slammed his foot on the pedal, and shot off down the road, gravel spraying behind him. Marty gave chase on foot—moving far faster than any old man should—his limbs stretching and twisting as he ran.
"Transform! " Loth yelled through the Omnitrix. "Use the Watch! "
"I can't!" Ben shouted, jerking the wheel to avoid a mailbox. "Not after last time!"
He didn't look back, but he could hear the sound of footsteps pounding closer.
By the time he skidded into Aunt Vera's driveway, Gwen and Grandpa Max were already outside, drawn by the noise.
"Ben? What the heck—" Gwen started, but stopped when Marty rounded the corner, his face melting, skin turning slick and gray-green.
"Grandpa!" Ben shouted. "We need to go—now!"
Max raised a hand, but it was shaking. And when Ben saw the faint yellow glint in his eyes, his blood ran cold. Aunt Vera stepped out behind him, smiling too widely.
"Ben," she said softly. "Come inside, dear. You must be tired."
"Grandpa Max?" Ben whispered.
Max's voice was calm. Too calm. "Ben, there's no need to run."
Then his jaw unhinged.
Ben grabbed Gwen's wrist and ran. They sprinted through the narrow streets as the entire neighborhood stirred to life—dozens of figures stepping out of houses, skin rippling, shapes shifting. Each wore the same hollow smile.
By the time they ducked under the Rustbucket, the whole community was awake and moving toward them. Their voices blended into a sickening chorus:
"Stay. Stay and feed."
Hundreds of them surrounded the RV. Gwen held a pipe in trembling hands. "Ben, we're trapped! You need to transform!"
The RV shuddered. The aliens pushed it aside effortlessly.
"Children are tough to chew," one hissed, eyes glowing faintly. "But we can make exceptions."
Ben was frozen. His hand hovered over the Omnitrix. "I can't. I'll screw it up again. If I transform, and something happens to you or Grandpa—"
"Ben. " Loth's voice cut through the noise, firm but calm. "Listen to me. I'm always scared. Every time I fight, every time I make a choice. I'm terrified—of failing, of watching people die because I wasn't strong enough. But you don't stop acting because of fear. You use it. Let it sharpen you. Let it push you. "
Ben's hand trembled.
"Now close your eyes, breathe, and press the damn dial. "
A screech rang out—Gwen, grabbed and dragged by one of the townspeople elongated arms.
'They're all aliens!'
Ben thought as he slammed his hand down.
The Omnitrix flared—a brilliant, blinding pink light that filled the entire area. The swarm shrieked, recoiling from the RV.
When the light faded, the air buzzed with raw energy.
Floating above the cracked pavement, hair like violet fire, eyes blazing with stellar light, stood Ben Tennyson.
Not human. Not alien.
An Anodite.
The swarm froze, whispering among themselves.
"Anodite!" one of them hissed, voice trembling. "He's an Anodite!"
And for the first time in a week, Ben smiled.
-0-
For the first time since the Alien X incident, Loth's world wasn't silent.
Inside the Codon Stream—the infinite lattice of alien DNA—he felt the pulse of energy change, a wave of power rising from the Anodite sample's core. The energy signature was identical to his own. That could only mean one thing: Ben had finally used the watch. And after understanding the Omnitrix's inner components, Loth had made sure Ben would activate the Anodite transformation first.
Two weeks of tireless effort had brought Loth to this point. He'd spent every waking moment learning how to project his Aura Sense outward from his spiritual anchor within the Omnitrix.
Each time he'd tried before, the system's security would push him back, sealing him deeper in the Codon Stream. But now, the Anodite DNA—his DNA—had provided a bridge. A frequency match.
He seized it.
There was a surge, a rush of warmth—and then sight.
The world opened around him in dazzling color and motion. His consciousness rushed into the physical realm through a body of pure, radiant energy. The air smelled of ozone and burning ozone plasma. The Omnitrix's controls buzzed briefly on his awareness before stabilizing.
For the first time in weeks, Loth was alive—through Ben.
"Whoa—what the heck?!" Ben's voice echoed within their shared mindspace, startled but elated. "Loth?! You—you're actually alive?! I thought you were—"
"Gone? Yeah, I thought so too," Loth replied, his voice calm but sharp. "But we'll do the reunion talk later. Right now—focus."
Below them, chaos spread through Aunt Vera's community. The shapeshifters—aliens called Limaxes—had shed their false skins, revealing gelatinous, tentacled bodies of dull green and gray.
Dozens of them slithered across the pavement, merging into larger masses, forming a single monstrous entity that towered over the neighborhood. Its surface rippled with eyes and mouths that screamed in alien tongues.
"Guess we've got company," Ben muttered.
"No guessing," Loth corrected. "We do."
Without hesitation, their shared body—the Anodite form—shot into the air. A surge of luminous energy followed, the grass below scorching from the thrust. Ben whooped, twisting through the air like it was part of him. "Ha! This feels amazing! I'm like—like a cosmic supernova with hair!"
"Keep your focus!" Loth warned, even as he couldn't help appreciating the control. The flight pattern was fluid, faster than Heatblast and far more stable than Stinkfly.
The Anodite form responded to every thought, every pulse of Ben's willpower.
Loth's awareness stayed in the background, an observer.
"Energy flow's stable," he said under his breath. "Flight vector optimal. You're syncing well."
Ben ignored the lecture, flipping upside down and firing a volley of pink energy blasts at the horde below. The blasts hit like meteors, exploding across the asphalt.
Alien bodies disintegrated in the shockwave.
"Yeah! Who's the kid now, huh?!" Ben shouted, circling above.
"Ben, watch your fire! Gwen's down there!"
Ben banked sharply, the blasts narrowly missing the overturned RV. He winced. "Relax, I made sure to aim away from—"
A tentacle shot up, nearly clipping him. Ben gasped, jerking the Anodite body out of its path.
Below, the Limaxes were fusing, their liquid forms joining into one gigantic creature that loomed over the street like a living mountain of slime. Its voice was a deep, wet rumble. "You cannot destroy us, child. We feed on energy. Your power only strengthens the hive. Yes. Give us more heat."
The next blast Ben fired confirmed it. The monster absorbed the pink energy, glowing briefly before expanding in size.
"Loth!" Ben shouted, panic rising. "It's not working!"
"I see that," Loth replied, grim. "Stop firing. You're only fueling it."
But Ben wasn't listening. Gwen's scream cut through the rain-soaked air. The Limax's massive limb had her wrapped tight, her legs kicking helplessly.
Ben roared, sending another barrage of energy bolts at the creature's core. The Limax laughed, the sound bubbling. "Futile," it boomed. "When your light burns out, I'll feast on the old one's marrow and keep you two preserved until you ripen."
Loth could feel Ben's emotions boiling over—fear, rage, guilt. The Anodite form's aura flared dangerously bright, cracks of wild energy splitting the air.
"Ben, stop! You'll lose control!"
"Then what do we do?!" Ben yelled. "I can't beat that thing!"
"Give me control," Loth said simply.
"What?"
"I know what it is. I know its weakness. But you have to trust me."
Ben hesitated, trembling.
"Please," he said finally. "Just save them."
A moment's silence. Then—
"Alright," Loth said, his tone shifting to command. "Time to make it rain."
Control transferred.
Instantly, the Anodite body steadied, posture straightening, eyes narrowing with focus. Loth flexed the aura shell, forming shimmering pink shields that blocked the Limax's whipping tentacles. "Ugly sumbitch," he muttered, scanning its energy signature.
The Anodite aura rippled. Loth's hands lifted skyward.
He began to chant—not a spell from Anodite tradition, but from another world entirely. Harry Potter. "Augmenti Maxima!"
The words ignited the air. Clouds churned overhead, roiling into a vortex tinted violet and pink. Lightning flashed in jagged pink arcs. The temperature plummeted.
The Limax hesitated. "No—no, not water! Anything but—"
The first drops fell. Then sheets.
Rain poured down, thick and heavy. Steam erupted as it struck the Limax's flesh. The creature screamed, its gelatinous surface bubbling and peeling away. The water acted like acid, eating through its mass until chunks of dissolving tissue splattered against the street.
Ben's voice whispered in awe through the link, "Whoa…"
Loth hovered above the collapsing creature, rain cascading over his glowing form. "You should've stayed in the swamp or wherever you came from," he spoke, voice calm but edged with steel. "The Earth is under protection. Mine."
The Limax gave one last shriek before its form melted completely into the puddles below, dissolving into harmless residue.
Silence fell—only the rain and the faint hum of residual Anodite energy remained.
Then, somewhere below, Gwen coughed, alive but drenched.
Loth exhaled slowly, tension draining from him. He could feel Ben's relief echoing through their shared consciousness.
"Nice work," Ben said softly. "Guess we make a good team."
"Guess we do," Loth replied, already feeling the Omnitrix timer ticking down. "Now let's get out before the watch times out. We've still got a town of elder citizens to save—and I've got one hell of a story to tell you."
The rain kept falling as the glow of the Anodite body dimmed, fading into light.
And within that light, two souls—one human, one Anodite—stood together as allies.