Ben ran off quickly out of the spaceship, followed by his bodyguards. He had to hurry before his absence got noticed.

This time, Vilgax had been even more satisfied than before with his performance. Aside from the wacky cartoon series he inspired and downloading himself and Gwen into a video game, Ben had managed to stop a plan of massive mind control all over the planet.

While it was hard to figure out what the Mummy and the Yenaldooshi were up to, Ben was able to count on both of his teams to stop them (he was still amazed by the two aliens' skills to follow them on the shuttle undetected) to neutralize and stop Ghostfreak's plan from taking place.

He was shocked to see the ghost alien again, especially after the utter humiliation he gave him last time. He was lucky Ghostfreak hadn't mentioned a thing in front of Max and Gwen about the Bounty Hunters when the two were fighting off his goons, otherwise he'd have to figure out how to get them away without arousing suspicion or having to hire new bodyguards afterwards.

Ghostfreak tried to possess him again, but Ben had a surprise of his own to give: the Ectonurite hadn't expected Ben to dish out his own Ectonurite form from the Omnitrix again. With both of them on equal ground, the evil alien couldn't possess him anymore, or find a way to get inside the watch while he was transformed. Ben had so much fun going around and possessing his enemy's henchmen when they expected it the least.

He had to admit he found Ghostfreak's grey chains and cuffs pretty cool-looking, especially with the spooky effect it gave when he switched from host to host. He had a lot of fun taunting the ghost alien, mocking him from trying to take the watch like any other crook, criticizing him for relying on others entirely to do something he couldn't. The Ectonurite had chased him around the ship, harming his own henchmen and losing his temper at every turn.

Ben's last strike was when he kept calling him 'Ghostfreak' over and over, after showing him he knew how to use his powers better than him. The Ectonurite had declared he called himself Zs'Skayr, finally giving the boy his real identity, and a way to know since when he had been up to this.

That's when he tried to go after Gwen and Max to lure Ben out, but the young hero managed to follow him when he used an alien that, for the time being, he dubbed 'Benvicktor', after the scientist at Cape Canaveral that turned out to be an alien too. It was really creepy to see a Transylian in person, but also very exciting to turn into one. Though he had to wait for the watch to recharge before using his new form, it was a fun game of cat and mouse between the two of them.

He was basically toying around with horror movie monsters. Except, in an oddly thrilling and terrifying way, he was the monster they had to avoid. And like most monsters in horror movies, he was the one coming out victorious at the end when Zs'Skayr thought he'd won.

Back at the shuttle, Max somehow managed to convince the scientists in there to not say a word about the 'Anur Infestation' they've had. It seemed he knew a military man that was in there, a guy called Colonel Rozum. Their grandfather apparently worked for him, back when he was supposed to be the first man on the moon (how cool is that?!).

Vilgax was relieved to hear Ben hadn't been affected even once by the Corrodium, and thankful the boy had managed to go through all of this without fear. Most of all, he was content with now having the name of the criminal that dared targeting his son. He'd have to look through his files, search the tabs he kept about his probes to know how the Ectonurite came to hear about the Omnitrix.

Other than that, things have gone pretty normal for Ben in-between his encounters with the freaks. He went farming with Gwen and Max, went to a very boring concert where he fought a giant weather monster (he found himself enjoying the rainy weather more than usual), and he met up with his old baseball team from Bellwood, the Cannons.

Of course, that meant having to deal with the fact he wasn't accepted into it, but it irked him to know Cash and JT were part of the team, just because some of the players got chicken pox. He would've gladly taken part in the team if he wasn't busy on a summer road-trip, dealing with the revelation he was an alien kid from outer space and that he had the most powerful weapon in the universe attached to him.

Gwen had lectured him a bit about using his aliens to cheat at carnival games that day. The young hero had brushed it off, claiming he only used Grey Matter for one game only, despite all of his prizes. And he was honest, Sixsix and Kraab had been the ones helping him instead. He wondered if it was showing off to ask two grown men, Bounty Hunters with years of hunting skills and practice, to win at rigged festival games.

It was unusual, but the two men seemed pretty used to being around and do silly stuff with him from times to times. They worked for him, so of course they had to obey him and stuff, but it was kinda nice to know there were more people on this road-trip than just his grandfather and cousin.

He thought of his hometown, Bellwood. When he'd get home, he'd have to ask his parents, his... adoptive parents, about what they knew. From what he got, Max hadn't told them about the whole 'kidnapping his old archenemy's son and giving him out to them'. So, they must've at least known Max was involved in him being part of the Tennyson family.

He also wondered how much his aunt and uncle knew about this. When discussing it with his bodyguards (he felt more at ease tackling that subject with them than Max. Or Vilgax, his father would not enjoy talking about his... 'replacements'), they assumed that if Max didn't tell Carl and Sandra who Ben was, Gwen's parents probably didn't know a thing either, aside from him being adopted.

He was curious how his aunt Natalie and his uncle Frank would react to it. Aunt Natalie would probably freak out, then complain about how her husband's family always had something out of the ordinary and that she wasn't surprised about her nephew coming from another planet. Ben thought it'd be wise not to tell her about Gwen learning how to use magic either.

Uncle Frank would probably be shocked, then sigh it out as another one of the things Max did to make their relationship strained. He'd probably come over to their house, then use his lawyer skills to let Ben stay on Earth (Ben was curious to see how that would go, his uncle against a space tyran in court). Good thing Max decided to put behind him his Plumber career to live with his family instead, him leaving was the last thing they needed.

Ben thought about how Ken would react. Ken was his cousin, Gwen's older brother, and the coolest guy around. He was three years older, so he could do a lot of stuff Ben and Gwen couldn't, including taking part in a small band at school where he played bass guitar. Ken would probably find it freakish that Ben was an alien, then shrug it off and ask him if he could fly or had laser eyes.

It felt a bit cruel to know he had to choose between his space family and his Earth family. Maybe he could fix them, putting them together, he thought. But Vilgax didn't look ready to give up his grudge this soon, and Max himself was pretty hard to convince. With the history they've had, he had more chances skipping grades and get ahead of Gwen regarding school work than getting them to become... not enemies ('friends' was too unrealistic in their case).

Other than that, they recently stopped at St. Louis, in Missouri. Ben had sneaked off while Max and Gwen were at the park to meet up with Vilgax. He sometimes wondered how the king figured out how to get on planet without getting noticed, his spaceship was hard to miss. He guessed people mistook it for a weird airplane, and Vilgax had said on numerous occasions he knew how to draw the attention away from himself when visiting a planet.

He had to hurry up before they noticed he was absent. At least he got a good excuse this time, he wouldn't need to improvise. And since he earned Gwen and Max's trust back, they wouldn't question it. He got in the park and started looking for the two Tennysons.

People were walking their dogs, being carefree with their families, playing frisbee all together. Maybe when this was all over, Vilgax would come to a park with them too, Ben felt his father had a lot of to deal with now that he was back in his life. The Squid Monsters seemed like they would've liked to follow him for a walk, considering they could survive on land for a while. Ben thought a swim would suit them better instead, and may be more fun altogether.

"Max, it's been so long since the last time I saw you. I can't believe it's you, after all this time..."

Someone was talking to Max. Intrigued, Ben followed the source of the voice. He went further in the park and saw Gwen's kite on a tree. She must've gotten it stuck. Though the trail of water next to the tree was a bit worrying...

He kept going and was glad to see Gwen and... Max... in his Plumber suit? And who was he talking to?

Next to both humans was a green alien person he didn't recognize. That person looked reptilian with a long green tails and tentacles on the back of her head, looking different from Vilgax. The alien had stripes on its face and tentacles and wore a dark purple suit. Ben hoped this wasn't who he thought this person was.

Gwen turned to see her cousin arriving.

"Ben! There you are! You won't believe what just happened." she said.

"Uh, grandpa? Who's this... alien?" he asked.

"Ben, this is Xylene. She's a 'Honorary Plumbette' and one of my old coworkers. Xylene, meet my grandson, Ben." said Max.

The alien inspected Ben with her three pink eyes. "Hmm, you didn't say you had more than one grandchild. Not that we pay attention to family matters that much where I come from. Also, I'm more than just an old coworker."

Ben didn't realize he started gritting his teeth when she spoke. Something about her didn't feel right, but he couldn't know why.

"Is that... the Omnitrix? Where did he get it?!" Xylene said, her eyes widening as she looked at Ben's wrist. The boy covered his arm when she said that.

"It's a long story." said Gwen.

There was something wrong with this woman. Whether or not she turned out to be like Phil, Ben didn't like this at all.

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

He had to leave soon, his empire was awaiting his return. Even though he had kept Ben waiting longer this time, his schedule was still considerably tight. He still had a hard time believing he had to schedule his time with his own son, all because Max kept Ben away from him.

Vilgax had to prepare for departure and think about what to do once he'd be back to Vilgaxia. He'd have to start looking for data about this Zs'Skayr and how he came to learn about the Omnitrix. He might as well build an Ectonurite prison for what that wretched being had attempted to do to Ben.

He knew that there was only about a month left until Ben gave his choice. Either Ben would follow him...

Or he'd stay on this dirt planet, under Max Tennyson's influence.

How did the old man dare take everything away from him? He lied to Ben, got him more than once to rely on him, depend on him and listen to him solely to turn him away from his fate. Max hadn't even thought Ben would already know the truth by now. It seemed the old Plumber was lost in delusions, in the delusion that Ben would ever be happy with his Earth life the way it was.

He had listened to Ben for hours, complaining about missing occasions, constantly being compared to that girl who had started using magic. Though it had been toned down as of recently, Vilgax knew exactly what feeling this was. He knew what game Max had been playing at, and a millennia wouldn't be enough for him to 'forgive and forget', as humans said.

It seemed this planet had made it a decision to make Ben believe he was nothing more than a human weakling, incapable of fending for himself and an easy target. If Vilgax knew anything about the Earth and how Ben seemed to behave, Ben felt miserable there. At least until he found the Omnitrix.

It was to be expected that these humans would make a mistake in the long run, letting someone they treated as prisoner get power. And now that Ben had a taste of the Omnitrix's power, he was bound to look for more after being caged in all of his life into the mindset he wasn't special or that he was just an incompetent brat.

For the time being, Vilgax could only keep guiding Ben, show him the way to power and aiding his son in developing the talent he's been denied. Even if Ben was still a child, Vilgax had no other choice but to leave him there until Ben gave an answer.

Either Ben would leave with him or... he'd refuse and stay there.

It angered the ruler that Ben had something keeping him far from home. He needed time to fix what else those vermin had done to the poor boy to make him feel unfit, inept to be a prince. Ben was proving himself to be the only one he knew was capable of all of those feats, he had shown off all of his prowess, everything he was capable of as of now.

Ben didn't know it yet, but a life of triumph and glory was awaiting him, regardless of whether or not he wanted to go back to Vilgaxia. This planet didn't deserve him anyway. If anything, Ben gave the Earth a semblance of worth by cleansing it from all those criminals who had repeatedly attacked him and his 'family'.

And speaking of criminals, he had to be wary of that group Ben had talked about, the Forever Knights. He had heard of them before, a group of medieval-based soldiers in armor who wanted to take over the world using alien technology while getting rid of any alien life they could find. It sounded hypocritical to him, but considering they were led by Driscoll, a former Plumber, he wasn't surprised these humans disregarded their own principles.

The Plumbers were falling apart for trying to take on alien life while disregarding their own limits, they were foolish to believe they were enough to stop him from leaving, from surviving more than once, from reuniting with his son, from raising Ben into a strong and fearsome Omnitrix wielder.

He would have to check for Ben's room when going back to the castle, Ben wasn't quite a baby anymore. Give him something to feel home and forget whatever he had while on Earth.

He was hoping Ben would be comfortable with a different environment to live in after returning. His people would have to appreciate him, he was the lost heir to the throne. A child as adventurous as him was bound to find admiration coming from his subjects. Ben would also have to adjust to the Chimerans of his age when he'd reintegrate their society.

But he was confident his son would find a way to enjoy the peace and prosperity their home planet had, Vilgax himself had went through a similar path. Though he originally grew out of the calmness surrounding him on Murray, his many encounters with the Plumbers, Max Tennyson and the other nuisances he had to deal with made him doubt if there was any better place to settle down, rule and raise a family.

Especially since Idraxx herself had decided to return there in their adult years...

His eyes widened before he sighed as he saw a trail of liquid on the ground, coming from inside the ship towards the hatch. Before they knew it, the two small Squid Monsters who were trying to exit the ship were caught.

"You're not going anywhere. It is summer on Earth and times are hot and dry where we are, you wouldn't survive a mile after getting out." scolded Vilgax, holding both creatures by hand.

The squids cried with small high-pitched sounds, seemingly pleading him to let them out. He knew what they wanted, and he couldn't really blame them for it.

"I know, you two already miss Benjamin. I miss him too, but he'll be back to visit soon enough." said Vilgax, petting them. "If you go back to your aquariums, he'll be back before you know it."

Vilgax had barely spoken that a blue figure entered the Chimerian Hammer's open door at high speed. The king was startled to find XLR8 heaving before him.

"Ben?! What's happening, what's going on?" asked Vilgax, frowning.

"Something came up." said XLR8, his face bearing an uncharacteristically spiteful expression.

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

"So, Xylene, what brings you back to Earth after all these years?" asked Max.

"The Omnitrix, of course."

"You're interested in it like everyone else?" asked Gwen, worriedly remembering last time they met one of Max's Plumber partners.

"Now let's not get too hasty, Gwen." said Max. "Xylene, tell her that's not true."

"Why wouldn't I be interested in the Omnitrix? I'm the one who sent it to Earth." she said.

While Ben left for a walk through the forest, after promising not to make another forest fire, Xylene explained to them how she came to send the Omnitrix to Earth and how Vilgax failed to get it, his entire ship exploding in the process. Though much to her disappointment, the squid being had survived.

"Well, the good news is that Vilgax is no longer a problem. Thanks to Ben, who should be back by now, his tentacles are cooling with the rest of his leftovers in deep sea. Ben took care of him, for good."

"Yes, well I'm sure you're just being modest about your role in all that." she smirked, putting a green hand on his suit's chest.

Little did they know that Ben was already back, angrily observing from behind a tree.

Thanks to what he learned, he discovered he could switch through his aliens while transformed by using the Omnitrix symbol. This was helpful when he got Heatblast instead of Stinkfly at first, though he settled for XLR8 when he realized he didn't have much time with Xylene here.

And thanks to what he heard, he knew who this woman was.

This was the woman who had taken the Omnitrix to Earth. This was the one his father had been chasing. This was the person who injured Vilgax to the point he had to wait before they could finally meet.

This woman tried to kill Vilgax.

He heard about the Mechadroid sent after her that still hadn't returned. It needed an update now that Vilgax knew the Omnitrix wearer wasn't an enemy, otherwise it'd keep chasing after Ben. Good thing his father gave him what he needed, as well as warnings against her and her telekinetic abilities.

She'd know how to neutralize the Omnitrix and maybe even disable it, Ben had to be careful with her around. But the worst of all is that Max and Gwen welcomed her into the campsite. He couldn't get rid of her without getting suspicious.

He could always sneak into the Rustbucket and try to take the Null Void projector, but who knew how much about the watch this woman knew and what she could do? If she knew anything about the Omnitrix, she could find a way back to Earth by making her own portal or anything of the kind. And unlike Phil, she was an alien, meaning she had powers and could possibly stop him from trapping her in there.

It unnerved him to know he had to put up with the enemy and let her roam around freely after what she had done.

"So since Vilgax is taken care of, guess you don't need to stick around here anymore." he spat out, announcing himself as he came by the table.

The three others were startled when they