Chapter 2: Final Destination

Plot
David got into his car, tired. All he wanted to do was go home, kick his legs up, and watch Netflix and chill out.

The car had other ideas.

It must've been his imagination, but as he reached for the seatbelt the engine turned on and the seatbelt attached itself around him. So did the one next to him, and the ones in the back, all tying him up. He tried to break free but they tightened.

Oh no you don't.

The voice in his head told him. The radio turned on and started to switch channels. He had put it on a CD by Aaronbill, but it settled on a channel saying. 'Ectograde - Zs'Skayr'.

"You thought I would just let you tell Ben Tennyson I was on Earth, did you." The radio rasped, it sounded just like the voice in his head.

"Who are you? I don't even know Ben 10." David managed to choke out. The radio shot out a lot of static and replied.

"Oh really, even if you are a rookie plumber, I still can't let you go now." David had no idea what the voice was talking about.

"P-plumber? I don't even know how to fix a pipe, let alone become a plumber." The radio spat out more static.

"Idiot, you do not joke with me. If you aren't a plumber, explain this!" A drawer at the front of the car opened revealed paperwork and a Plumber's Badge.

"What, the toy Omnitrix? Why would that make me a plumber?" David choked out.

"Toy?!" The voice screamed, almost deafening David with static. One of the seatbelts came undone and pressed on the badge. Badly recorded sound of Ben saying "Humongosaur!" came out.

"What?!" The voice was enraged. "Well, I still can't let you stay alive, but I will be kind enough to let you say your final goodbyes...Or not."

It was unknown what happened to David after that, all that was known was that he was alive, no more.

"There hasn't been any crimes lately." Ben sighed, halfway through his fourteenth smoothie.

"That is a good thing, is it not?" Rook had grown to know Ben very well and since he was bored, it wasn't a surprise. Just then, a loud siren noise blared in his ear. Ben swiped his head to the direction and smiled a foolish smile. Rook rolled his eyes at this.

"It's hero time!" Ben scrambled out of his chair, smacking the Omnitrix. Ben's skin had become scaly, resembling a reptile's. Wheels had grown in place of his toes, a tail growing on his behind. "XLR8!" He shouted, running onto the streets of Bellwood towards the siren noise.

You have to understand that Ben did not know where he was going, and a yellow speeding Toyota forced out a sigh from him. His Omnitrix lit up, and Rook's voice beamed from it. "Ben, this is not just speeding, the police say the driver is in possession of stolen jewels." XLR8 had now caught up with the car, and slowed down as not to outrun it.

"Pull over and hand over the jewels," No response. "I bet this car cost you a lot of money, and you wouldn't want your car to be broken on top of you going to jail." Still no response. XLR8 had busted the car's window open when he saw the driver. Nobody.

"What is going on in there?" Rook's voice sounded younger, which was when Ben realised everything Rook said he said before in the exact same way. On a mission to recapture a stray sludgepuppy, Rook asked what's going on there.

When looking on the 'Human Computer Network' he saw a meme saying 'This is not just speeding' They were in car jewel thefts multiple times and Rook said Ben's name multiple times... It was then he realised only Max, Azmuth and Gwen had been given access to the code that calls the Omnitrix...

"Rook. Do you know anyone else who knows the code to the Omnitrix?"

"The only person who has another Omnitrix." Rook sounded normal but the words were crystal clear to Ben.

A Galvanic Mechamorph was wrapping around XLR8's legs from the car, he tried to shake it off, but the car started to shoot off the cliff, with XLR8 attached. He detransformed from XLR8 as he plummeted down the cliff. The Omnitrix was no use to him now as it was timed out.

The bottom of the cliff was quite rocky, some water here, some water there. Simple, Ben had seen on the brochure. He did not want to see it in person and never intended to go as far as it in view. Luckily, the Omnitrix recharged and showed the symbol of Humungousaur, Stinkfly, Spidermonkey and finally Astrodactyl, which he slapped down on hard.

A green light engulfed his body, and as it cleared, a yellowish robotic shape was in Ben's place. "Astro- Wait a second..." The Galvanic Mechamorph began to crawl up Clockwork's body. "Oh no you don't!" He shot a green energy beam at the Mechamorph, and it aged into dust, but slowly started to regrow. Suddenly, everything stopped. Air, Space, The Galvanic Mechamorph, The Car. Time itself was frozen. Except Clockwork.

"Let's see... If I jump on the car and climb onto the cliff. That won't work with Clockwork though... Ah!" He unfroze time, transformed into Spidermonkey and stuck to the cliff face. The car plummeted downwards with a crash at the mist-covered bottom.

After he was up, Ben detransformed and stood in front of the cliff. His resting time wasn't very quick as a huge fireball shot up from the cliff, followed by a Pyronite. "It's Hero Time!" Ben shouted and slammed down on the Omnitrix.

Nothing happened.

As per usual, the Omnitrix was timed out when Ben needed it most. As a second fireball came plummeting towards Ben, an orange blast deflected it. Rook was signalling for Ben to run, and run he did as the blasts were barely able to catch up with XLR8.

"Recharging would've been useful a minute ago, Omnitrix!" He jumped into the Proto-TRUK and pressed a ton of buttons. The result was a huge orange beam which made the Pyronite start falling. It went down, but not before a gigantic fire tsunami came rushing towards the Proto-TRUK, melting and destroying everything inside. Ben, once again, made it out, but his face was slightly burnt and he had turned back.

"Ben? Do you think someone is behind all of this?" Rook asked.

"Yeah, someone is." All the evidence pointed to one person, one who Ben could never get rid of...

Cannonbolt landed on Galvan Prime. Rook fell out of Cannonbolt, returning to his regular form, and Ben detransformed, going into the Galvan Muesem to stand face to face with Albedo, who had been chained up there since the Malgax incedent. He had gotten food, but just enough to keep him alive, nothing more. "Why are you here?" Albedo spat at Ben, trying to move backwards but was unable to due to the chains holding him in place.

"Not so tough, eh," Ben smirked at Albedo.

Rook stared Albedo down. "Do not pretend that you are still helpless. You have used a Galvanic Mechamorph form to kill 'David De'Mero' and almost kill Ben, then attack and destroy the Proto-TRUK. You will be sentenced to a fate more horrible than the one you suffer right now. What do you have to say?"

"How can I even do that? I haven't got off of this planet for months." As much as he is a liar, and evil. Albedo was telling the truth.

"Wait... The Heatblast didn't have an Omnitrix symbol, and the Upgrade wasn't red... It's the truth. But if Albedo didn't do it... Who d-" before Ben could finish his sentence, Albedo became temporarily intangible and left the shackles. He reappeared and pressed down on his Ultimatrix. He was engulfed by a red light, and a tiger-like alien in a wrestler suit took his place.

"Lemme tell ya somethin' Ben Tennyson! I'm gonna crush you to a pulp, eat the pulp, spit it out, eat it again, poop it out and crush the poop into a pulp! So you are gonna regret ever meeting me!"

Before Rath could land the first hit, Ben hit the Omnitrix, transforming into Four Arms. Rath started to swing Four Arms in the air as fast as he could, but was interrupted by a laser from Rook's Proto-Tool. He picked up Rook and smashed him against the ground multiple times, Rook was unconscious by the time he was done, but Four Arms had tackled him already. Rook was flung into a Pink Jaguar that had pulled up before, though nobody noticed.

A green light surrounded Four Arms and Ben was standing in his place. "Come. On. Omnitrix!" He knew that the only thing he could do was run, and he ran straight into 'Pakmar's Galvan Shop'

Pakmar himself was walking towards the shop, happy with his new establishment, but as soon as he saw the Omnitrix, he pulled out some paper and a pen and started writing the bill.

Ben had transformed into Rath himself and he and Albedo did the only thing two giant tigers with Anger Management problems could do. The store was in ruins in an instant. After the smoke cleared, it revealed Rath pinning down Negative Rath.

"Lemme tell ya something else, Ben Tennyson! Rath never loses!"

Negative Rath started to grow. Wild designs started to form on him and large spikes appeared on his back. His clothing ripped up, bounty hunter-styled clothing replacing it.

"Lemme tell you FIVE things! Rath is gonna kick your butt so hard that you won't be able to sit down for forever more!"

Ben knew he was outmatched, but just then a claw came out of nowhere and grabbed hold of Ben's Omnitrix, which let out green Sparks.

"Augh! Rath does not approve! Rath can beat you both creepy hand and Ultimate Rath, you are du-" The Omnitrix finally detransformed and the claw let go. Part of its arm started to materialise. And more. And more. Another claw popped into existence a short way away from the now arm and cloak. As soon as the two cloak halves met, Ben knew who it was. "Zs'Skayr!" He tried to hit the Omnitrix, but Ultimate Rath tackled him from behind and his hand missed. Zs'Skayr just turned his head into place and floated there. Whole.

"Well, well, well. Tennyson. The one who imprisoned me in that infernal castle for 30 years, forever burning, no end to the pain. Well, now Albedo provided me with what I need, I burn no more. I am free!" Zs'Skayr's scythe dropped to the floor and technological patterns started to cover his body. His hood connected to his skin and wires came across his body. Zs'Skayr had transformed into a Galvanic Mechamorph-Ectonurite hybrid.

"Uh oh. Upfreak, Ghostgrade, no, uhh..." Ben couldn't think of a name for the form.

"Ectograde!" Ultimate Rath jumped from behind and hit the malfunctioning Omnitrix, which was glowing blue. A green-blue flash engulfed both of them and in Ben's place was an assortment of crystals.

"New alien, sweet!" The crystal alien said. The pieces of crystal split up, going towards another building. 'Pakmar's Crystals and Chemicals: Everything Proof.'

A ghostly version of Fasttrack moved across the Galvan sky. Towards Earth. It touched down in Bellwood, in front of a Black Volvo. A voice came from the radio, "How, bawk, much boss?"

"1,000,000,000. And more if you do it well." The ghost Fasttrack said.

"Great, bawk, boss. I'll, bawk, tell the others." The radio cut to static.

The assortment of crystals was flying around Ultimate Rath, occasionally jabbing. Eventually, one hit the Ultimatrix symbol and Ultimate Rath destranformed. Albedo's Ultimatrix immediately flashed up a hologram of Goop, but after he pressed down on it Diamondhead was in his place. He shot up a crystal wall which engulfed one of Ben's crystals. It broke apart and morphed with the wall. "Wanna see what happens when all of your crystal are absorbed?" Ben split up again and frantically tried to time out. No use.

The crystals ended up hiding in a huge aisle with identical crystals of all colors covering the walls. 'Sentient Chemicoal Crystals; very volatile.' The label above Ben's left shoulder crystal read. Next to his fist crystal and a crystal identical to his body was a plumber's badge. Ben had an idea. The center crystal, with the plumber badge attached, floated out. Diamondhead saw this, and ran straight towards it. The crystal shot forwards but it was too late. Diamondhead grabbed it and punched it just as he realised that the Omnitrix couldn't detach.

It all happened so fast, Albedo rechained, Ben and Rook talking to the plumbers, Pakmar happy to see that his everything-proofing worked. The only thing Ben could remember clearly was talking to Rook at the place where Cannonbolt touched down.

"How do you suggest we get back?" Rook asked his partner.

"Azmuth didn't give us a ride?"

"He says he is busy."

"He just doesn't want to. Want a piggyback ride?"

"There are no pigs on this planet, it is not Earth."

"Get on my back."

"Pardon?"

"Get on my back Rook, it's the quickest way home."

"I do not see how-" Rook was lifted onto Ben's back, who turned into Chromastone and flew off into the night.

Major Events

 * XLR8, Clockwork, Spidermonkey, Cannonbolt, Rath and Chromastone make their Ben 10: Ghostly Future debuts.
 * MindMatter debuts.
 * Zs' Skayr arrives on Earth.

Minor Events

 * Liam makes his Ben 10: Ghostly Future debut.

Characters

 * Ben Tennyson
 * Rook Blonko
 * David De'Mero (death)

Villains

 * Zs' Skayr
 * Albedo
 * Liam (cameo)

By Ben

 * XLR8
 * Clockwork (accidental transformation, selected alien was Astrodactyl)
 * Spidermonkey
 * Cannonbolt (offscreen transformation)
 * Rath
 * MindMatter
 * Chromastone

By Albedo

 * Rath (evolved)
 * Ultimate Rath
 * Diamondhead

Trivia

 * Testing...
 * Testing...
 * One, two, three...