"And what alien is that?" asked Ben, on his father's lap.

"That's a Revonnahgander, a feline species. They aren't much different from humans, if only more agile, stronger on their feet, and some of them have knowledge in martial arts."

"You already said that for Ripjaws." huffed Ben, unimpressed. "Do all aliens know kung fu?"

"As far as I can recall, that fighting style was a craze among Earthlings in the past. Is it still nowadays?"

"Meh, not really. It's still cool when you're a guy who watches Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee's kinda movies, but when you got something like the Omnitrix like me, I find it's pretty cheap."

Vilgax chuckled. He was enjoying Ben's attitude, the boy's pride reminded him so much of himself back when he severed his ties with Maxwell Tennyson and allowed himself to discover the wonders being free had. Ben would make a great heir, and a powerful ruler when the time comes.

"What about this one?" Ben pointed to the multi-eyed, multi-legged monkey hologram Vilgax's projector showed among many other species.

"That's an Arachnichimp. They have a lot of strength, especially in their arms and feet. They can produce strong spider webs from their tail, a strong appendage that is as hard as steel. They can latch onto any surface with their sticky fur and are specialized in close combat."

"Wow! I'm gonna call that one... Spidermonkey!"

"You really like giving your different forms names, don't you?"

"Hey, if I'm gonna be a hero, I'm not gonna stay bland and lame, I need some names for my super cool powers."

"So you wish to be a hero..." Vilgax hummed. "Be careful about who you trust, Ben. As I said before, some people can take profit of your good intentions for their own gain. You wouldn't believe it if I told you how many times someone has tried to fool me, manipulate me."

"If you're an alien king, of course they're gonna target you." said Ben. "They know who the best player on the ground is, they're gonna try to block you the best they can. But thanks for the advice." he smiled. "Okay, time to test out new aliens!"

He got up from Vilgax's lap and went at the center of the main room, preparing himself to transform.

"Okay, let's start with... Spitter!"

He thought as hard as he could about the slimy alien. Ben closed his eyes, readying himself for the transformation. It never came.

"Huh? Nothing happened."

Vilgax raised a brow. Ben was supposed to turn into a Spheroid (if that was the name he chose for that species).

"Okay, let's try with Swampfire then?"

Ben focused on the fiery plant alien, but he was still in his Chimeran form.

Something was wrong.

"Wildmutt? Heatblast? Grey Matter? What's going on? Why can't I go hero the way I want?" Ben asked, staring at the Omnitrix on his green wrist.

"Wait a moment, Ben. This isn't right, the Master Control should still be functioning. Give me your hand." said Vilgax.

Ben held his hand out in confusion, allowing Vilgax to put his claws on the watch and start turning the dial. This time, there was no green energy released, Vilgax wasn't shocked like the first time he touched the watch. Ben didn't know what Vilgax had in mind, but considering his frown, there was a problem.

"The Master Control has been deactivated."

"What?! How?!"

"I have no knowledge of it, it seems something happened while you were using it. Did you do something with it while you were with that mutant earlier?" asked Vilgax.

"No? I didn't mess for the Omnitrix for once, I just..." Ben wondered if Kevin was responsible. "Wait, I touched Kevin while I was in there, think it messed with the watch?"

"Hmm, this might be it. The energy from the Omnitrix might've clashed with his mutant state and overload the system, resetting it without you noticing."

"So I can't use my new aliens anymore?" asked the young alien worriedly.

"Of course you can." reassured Vilgax, brushing the boy's tentacled head. "The Omnitrix keeps track of your transformations. For every form you've used, they're listed as unlocked by the Omnitrix's database. Even if you lose Master Control, those forms you've gained are still there."

"Phew!" sighed Ben. "Man, it still stinks I lost it! I thought I could help you with my powers, do cool stuff with you." he pouted. "Now I'm back to being plain old me. Or not." he looked at his green clawed hands. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Why am I human?"

A huge silence installed itself in the room. Sixsix and Kraab were at the entrance, still silent but listening closely while they guarded the door. This was a question they have been asking themselves too: why did Vilgax the Conqueror have a human son? As far as they knew, he wasn't adopted. Adopted by humans, yes, but it was hard to imagine Vilgax of all people want to raise a child that wasn't his as his own, a human at that (even if lately, a lot of things surprised them).

Vilgax crossed his hands, going deep in thought. He knew this question would come sooner or later when Ben was born, it would be hard to explain to his son the reason of their difference. Especially since Max Tennyson had taken him away. The truth could break him. Not for long, of course, but Ben wouldn't talk to his human family ever again and they'd suspect something, or mistreat him.

It would've been so much easier if Ben didn't grow apart from him, things were more complicated than he expected. Now he couldn't talk to Ben about it without making things worse. Like Max.

It angered him to know he and the Plumber were in the same situation. He knew he wasn't the most purehearted being in the Galaxy, but it didn't mean he had to share a misery with the old man, especially since he didn't want Ben mad at him either.

No, he wouldn't tell Ben, but unlike Max, he wouldn't hide everything from him either. Just what he needed to know.

"The reason you were born human... is partially my fault."

"Huh?"

"I... I wasn't the same man I used to be before we had you. I changed, I went through many dangers and perils, but one of my... mistakes affected me greatly, and... it also affected your mother."

Ben listened, his eyes wide.

"She was affected by the same curse I've had, and it affected you too, while she was still carrying you. The fact you're still here today, you're still alive, is to me one of the biggest miracles I've ever witnessed. As a result, you were born human, even if your mother was a Chimeran like me, like us both now."

"What was my mom like?" Ben asked.

"She was a peaceful and warm woman. She always wanted to make sure those she knew were at ease, even if she often got into trouble for it. She wouldn't listen when told otherwise, and she could be feisty at times, unpredictable. She was the brightest woman I've ever known."

He sounded lost in memory, nostalgic. Ben hadn't seen this side of him yet, despite the many times Vilgax showed himself to be a sensitive being underneath that creepy cool armor.

"She wouldn't and didn't let me down, or let me lose faith. We often squabbled about what the other was doing in our early years, before we decided to take a step forward and committed our hearts to each other."

Ben felt this was going into the kissy story category when he said that. Vilgax talking about a lost love wasn't something you'd expect to ever hear. This was certainly something, and he wasn't sure that many people got to see that.

"I lived through, but..." he looked away for a few seconds. He wasn't going to talk about that yet. "Your mother couldn't survive while you did. She was able to live for almost half a year after your birth, but then..."

Ben knew he should stop asking at this point, Vilgax was obviously regretful with how things turned out. But he needed to know.

"Please tell me, what's the story behind my mom's death? What happened back then?"

"Ben, I... I can't tell you."

Ben frowned. Was he ever getting an answer?

"Why not? Why can't you tell me?"

"I... I don't want you to be hurt, I don't want to harm you by telling you."

'But you're hurting by hiding it from me!' He thought. "I'm not a weakling, I'm stronger now. Why do you think telling me the truth would hurt?"

"Because that's precisely what happened when I found you again."

Ben blinked. "What do you mean?"

"When we met and I revealed to you what you were denied for all your life, you looked about to collapse, and I felt responsible for that." he sighed. "I know Tennyson is the one to blame, but you looked broken when I told you the truth. I can't tell you yet, I don't want to cause you harm when I know I will."

"But you... but I..."

Vilgax was right, Ben felt like his entire world fell apart when he discovered he wasn't a normal kid. He was so mad at Max and kept it down, and mad at everyone for just lying. He stopped seeing the good side of things, he kept thinking everything was awful, everything was a lie, even when it wasn't the case.

He even made up with Gwen when he realized she never had any involvement in any of this. Seeing the truth did help him change, but... he didn't take it well, he was weak when he learned.

He wasn't told, because he wasn't ready.

Was... was Max right in keeping the truth from him?

No, he wasn't gonna give his grandpa that pleasure. Even when Vilgax came, Max kept lying. At least Vilgax did his best to talk to him instead of pretending nothing happened. But...

He had been unfair with Max. The old man probably thought the same as Vilgax, if he cared. But they uncovered his past, lying wasn't necessary anymore, Ben already knew a lot. He could give Max time, but he didn't like that Max had no faith, no trust in him enough to let him know.

Ben looked down as he realized what he was the most mad at. It wasn't simply his past being a lie, Max being responsible for it or him never talking. It was that he was at the center of this whole mess, and he couldn't do a thing about it. His Grandpa was still silent, his dad barely got to be with him, his cousin had no clue what was going on, and he felt like everything was falling apart.

The Omnitrix, the Plumbers, Vilgax, the aliens... All of this was dawning on him, and all he did was losing it. No matter what, he kept getting angry, impatient at every turn, he was more acting like a child than ever.

He wasn't making progress by acting angry, he was just being a sad alien kid.

"What I don't know, won't hurt me." he sighed.

He needed time. For Max, for Vilgax, and for himself. Staying mad forever wasn't going to lead him anywhere, even if Vilgax looked like the kind of guy who'd tell you otherwise. But he wasn't going to wait forever either.

"Can you tell me someday? Please?"

"I, I will try." said Vilgax, bringing Ben closer to him again. "I am sorry you're being denied the answers you seek, my son."

"It's fine, not gonna judge. Just, don't stall forever, okay?"

"You have my word."

Ben snorted slightly at how solemn his father was. Looks like he needed a family vacation too, lay off all that conquering stuff and start relaxing. Speaking of which, he had to see Max again...

Red lights started blaring, ending the embrace abruptly. Both Chimerans switched to a serious expression, as Vilgax went back to the control panel, inputting commands. A display of the ship materialized, showing a red dot in a specific location.

"I knew Kevin would try something!"

"Wait an instant, Ben."

Suddenly, a small screen appeared, showing the young mutant blasting drones, using energy he absorbed. From said drones, using his hands.

His human hands.

"Hey! He's normal again?! What's going on?"

"He might have been drained from all the Omnitrix's energy, or maybe this is only temporary. He's trying to escape!"

"Well, not on our watch!" grinned Ben, palming his fist eagerly. "Come on, let's show him!"

Vilgax's look seemed to match his cunningness. They were having their first mission together, this was going to be fun.

"You two, stay there and guard the door in case he tries to get here!" ordered Vilgax. "Me and Ben will deal with this pest by ourselves."

"Yeah!"

The two Bounty Hunters nodded, and awaited for their master and liege to leave the scene.

It was silent again in the room. They had kept quiet during the entire exchange, and closely paid attention to the details. This whole story sounded like a really unusual soap opera, not that they could complain.

They were the protectors of Vilgaxia's legitimate heir, worked under the most feared being in the Galaxy and encountered more threats in a few weeks than they did in a long time. They had to admit, if this was Tetrax's original task, this wasn't as easy as they'd think it'd be, but this was certainly more entertaining than what they've had before accepting this mission.

To think their original task was to take away the Omnitrix from the boy, risking to kill him in the process... They might not have survived had they succeeded, as soon as Vilgax would've known who was bound to it. Now they had to defend him from harm.

They had to give Ben credit, he was good at fending himself for a kid, especially since he was still a novice using the strongest weapon in the entire galaxy. And the way things were going, he was on his way to become a fearsome leader like his father... even if he did seem less cruel and more benign and lenient than Vilgax.

He didn't throw a major tantrum or treat them like slaves yet (although he did ask them to help do his chores in that vehicle he lives in with the Plumber and the girl), unlike the Incursean princess Sixsix's older brother had to work for recently (probably planning another of those "stealing the throne" plans, a tradition among those treacherous frogs), he was a good kid.

...which was a weird thing to say about someone related Vilgax.

He still had a lot to learn, and considering he wanted to fight with them rather than stay back, he could become a fierce warrior someday. He already took them down before, he could do it again had they not been on his side and under his service...

"Hey."

Sixsix turned to his partner.

"Remember the bounty someone put on Vilgax's head recently when they found out he was still alive?"

The Sotoraggian grunted in response, shaking his head.

"Yeah. Even if we could do it, I don't feel like breaking the kid's heart either."

..............................................................................................................................

"Great." Ben scowled, looking at the several holes in the ship's walls. "He got away."

"For a human weakling, he's fast."

"Didn't you know? On Earth, kids are the fastest creatures alive." joked Ben while his father was inspecting the damage.

"I wouldn't know. On Vilgaxia, young Chimerans are peaceful and docile, only getting more active during water activities."

"Was I different compared to other kids?"

Vilgax turned to him. "Well, as a baby, you certainly were full of energy both in water and on land, I can't say I've ever seen that much liveliness coming from others."

Ben snickered. He wondered how things were back when he lived with his dad, before he was taken away. They probably lived in one of those fancy castles with gold toilets and butlers all looking the same (though considering this was aliens he was thinking of, clones of the same guy weren't that out of the question).

"Ben, you better come take a look at this." he beckoned, observing a drone's destroyed remains.

"Hm?" Ben approached the machine, kneeling down to inspect the circuits' leftovers. "Wow, he went hard on this one. Poor little guy... hey, why is that claw all weird?"

The drone's metal claw was all twisted, probably Kevin's doing. But there was something unusual on it. There were colored spots that looked a lot similar to the Chimerian Hammer's walls, possessing the same texture and color. The drone was badly beaten up, but this was different from the usual damage.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn't rubble over the robot. And if it was, it was stuck to it like glue. As if the walls' bits had merged with the drone...

"Did Kevin give your robots a paint job? I'm not sure the eyes are supposed to be covered, it's like he took the thing next to him and punched your drone to death with it."

Vilgax hummed, taking a closer look. The iron looked like it melted into the material over it, both pieces had merged, and it almost looked like there was a hand print. The way the iron was crumbled, it was as if someone had clutched it before turning it into an amalgamated mess of matter.

Amalgamated...

"That youngling doesn't just absorb energy."

"Huh?" Ben looked up.

"He was able to absorb your powers and some of my enhancements' raw power, but it seems he can also absorb matter and replicate it, much like how he did with some of your less... organic forms."

"Wait, Kevin can use other stuff? Oh man! Does that mean we got an alien slash mutant slash robot hybrid freak loose?" Ben sighed.

"No. Like I said, he must've run out of energy to use." Vilgax explained. "He would've used the Ectonurite's powers to escape discreetly instead, rather than simply causing havoc and think he'd get away with it. Though I must admit, I'm surprised he lasted this long if all it took was my ship to drain him."

"Kevin doesn't really do sneaky or silent, he's more of the 'smash everything because I'm mad' type. If he ever thought of using Ectonurite powers to escape while he was a freak, he wouldn't-"

Ben paused.

Ectonurite? Escape? Freak?

Ectonurite. Freak. Escape.

Ghost. Freak. Escape.

Ghostfreak escaped.

"Ghostfreak is gone!"

Vilgax looked up in confusion. What was his son talking about?

"What do you mean, Benjamin?"

"Ghostfreak, he's my Ectonurite form. I used him first time you took me there after I fought Phil." Ben recalled. "Turns out, he was hiding inside the watch because his DNA was still sentient or something about his species. He tried to possess me to become whole again and take over the world, but now all that's left of him is a pile of dust."

Vilgax frowned. "An Ectonurite that infiltrated your Omnitrix to control it? I must admit, that's an elaborate and risky plan, it's a wonder he even managed to reach the insides of the Omnitrix. He must've passed as a DNA sample to do such a plan. Did he... did he hurt you?" he asked with concern.

"He tried. He used Gwen to bargain for the Omnitrix. I didn't have a choice, so I let him get close. When he was about to possess me, the Omnitrix turned me into Grey Matter and I was able to escape. Then, I lured him somewhere away from Grandpa and Gwen. Kraab used his weird goo to turn him visible and Sixsix neutralized him. I reprogrammed the Sun Gun that Grandpa used with Grey Matter's genius to boost its power and turn Ghostfreak to ash."

There was a mischievous expression on his face as he smiled devilishly. He had fun showing that alien who was the boss around, and who was the one to control him while he was captive of the Omnitrix. He couldn't help himself anymore, it felt so nice teaching bad guys a lesson that way, no matter how severe and vicious his moves became.

"He did kinda take over me when he was still in the Omnitrix. I turned into him when some goons attacked, and we gave them a good kicking in the butt. Not sure if it was all him or if I didn't take part in it, it was kinda fun."

"I'm