"You saved the world all summer, dude. How tough can fifth grade be?" he told himself.

As boring and nerdy as it sounded, Ben felt he'd be better at school now that summer was over. It was either that or spending his days with his parents lying through their teeth about him. It still felt discouraging to come back there on his own though.

No aliens, no Plumbers, no bad guys... just his boring old normal life again. Anyone would beg to have three months worth of superhero adventures and space shenanigans, packed with superpowers and an alien watch that made him invincible...

Yeah, right.

Carl and Sandra hadn't noticed anything off, except for Ben asking them several times about where babies came from, if it hurt to have one, which hospital he was supposedly born in and if Max's job was involved in it somehow. Well, he tried, he couldn't exactly get past the first two questions. When he got back home, all his chores from before summer caught up to him, leaving him busy with things he should've taken care of before leaving the town.

The whole trip back to Bellwood, he and Max had stayed silent. Gwen attempted to break the ice by talking about her composition class, only to get frustrated at the responses. Apparently, saying 'uhuh', 'cool' or any other passive variation more than five times in a row was enough to warrant a faceplant into the table from her. Some more space would do them all good.

Speaking of which, Ben had yet to get news from his bodyguards.

He managed to sneak the Forever Ninja into the back of the RV after taking down some bird weirdos, it was one out of three. Sixsix and Kraab were away, looking for a way to get back to Earth since Tetrax had to drop them off somewhere where they wouldn't look like they were following Ben. Something told him he didn't need to tell his dad about their issue, otherwise he might do something about their salary.

It wasn't going to be all bad, it's not like bad guys would have the guts to attack him in public where everyone would see them and try to stop them, right?

Before he could ponder any further on the matter, a metal lasso caught him by the leg, stopping him in his tracks and pulling him into the top of a tree next to the school. He barely yelped as he was taken away, landing on a branch hidden by many leaves.

Instinctively, he brought his hand to the watch. He hadn't expected to be back in business so soon, but he wasn't complaining. He was stopped by two armored hands he knew well. Ben immediately smiled as he recognized the two bounty hunters, having camouflaged himself on the top of the tree.

"Young master, wait!" interrupted Kraab, followed by a grunt from the Sotoraggian. "It's us!"

"Guys!" exclaimed Ben. "About time! I was getting impatient, where were you at?"

Sixsix explained through grunts Kraab translated. "We were about to leave T-K after taking a rental when Vulkanus came and tried to get Sixsix back to working with him. It was tedious telling him 'no' several times, he even threatened us. Oh, and Sixsix wants to add, he's annoyed we didn't have enough money left to get you a souvenir."

Ben laughed, relieved they would at least stay around. It was already difficult having Carl drive him to school when he had to pretend to listen, and he felt too tense to ask about Max or Vilgax when the day was just starting. He felt so much better knowing Sixsix and Kraab would have his back.

Though past the two first weeks, he'd eventually have to talk to Vilgax.

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

"Alright! Now we're talking!" said Ben, his frown turning into a smirk.

While gym class was starting, aliens wearing red and black suits with a belt and grey goggles with straight yellow lenses, just randomly crashed through the wall with pickaxes. Ben doubted it had anything to do with dodgeball, which meant it was his turn to play.

He ran towards the emergency exit, surprised no one was using it, only to find his guards already waiting.

"Any idea on who these pickax dudes are?" he asked, twisting the Omnitrix's dial.

"They're a group of workers-for-hire throughout the galaxy. Anyone with enough money to lose on mining can hire them." explained Kraab. "This does not tell us why they came here, but we suspect your feats in outer space might've attracted unwanted attention."

"Well, whoever these miner dudes are, I'll let them know I'm not an easy rock to pick." he said, slamming the dial.

His skin hardened spontaneously as crystal green spikes appeared on his back and head. When the flash of green faded, Diamondhead stood, beckoning the three bodyguards to follow him before entering the gymnasium.

He could hear some cheering as some of the other kids recognized him, seeing as he made his aliens pretty famous during summer. He rolled his eyes at their hypocrisy, knowing these were the same people who humiliated him earlier today and made fun of him a few minutes ago.

All four started shooting the creatures around them, this was nothing more than pest control for a born fighter like him.

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"Keeping a secret is never easy, trust me." said Max. "Every day, I wanted to tell your grandma and our kids the truth."

"But you make it sound soooooooo easy." spat Ben.

After the aliens fled, Max had come to retrieve Ben from school, knowing Carl and Sandra would be busy elsewhere. He was impressed to hear Ben saved the day so quickly, though he was a bit confused when he heard the kids mention a "superhero team". He guessed they were talking about Ben's other aliens and didn't press on the matter, though Ben looked upset to see him.

"Maybe if you had, you and..." he hesitated. Carl, or Vilgax? "You and Dad would get along better now."

"We can't change the past, Ben."

"Maybe not, but it'd be nice if you cared enough to fix that now."

He sulked, sinking into his seat as the RV took him to his house. Max didn't add anything before parking the Rustbucket in front of the Tennyson household, but he stopped Ben from leaving too fast.

"Ben... speaking about the past... I know I still didn't tell you all what you wanted, but at least I can do this for now. I forgot to give this to ya the other day." he said, handing Ben a box. Opening it, Ben made a smile Max didn't think he'd see again. "Your summer souvenirs."

"Cool!"

The box was quite full of the stuff he had gathered, including items of alien origins. Max didn't know some of these came from Vilgax, not like he needed to. Then again, maybe Max would open up better if he was the one telling him the truth...

"Grandpa... do you... want to come in and wait for... Mom and Dad to come home? I kinda want us to talk."

"Can't. I told Gwen I'd take her to a karate tournament today. Erm, do you miss her yet?"

"I... I think I really do."

It was hard to believe these two were the same kids that argued over anything for years. They fought so much they couldn't go out on family vacation all together anymore. This year had been different at least, but at what cost?

Gwen was glad to see her uncle and aunt yesterday, and they were glad to hear she and Ben had gotten along better, as well as him growing a bit on her. She of course omitted the alien transforming part. Uncharacteristically, they had hugged before telling each other goodbye. The adults were relieved their arguing would've lessened, unaware the kids were more worried than anything about saying goodbye.

They had each other's back for three months (maybe two, first one was still hell), and now they'd be each in their own school, occasionally meeting up on weekends. It wouldn't be all bad, but if anything magic or science-related came up, Ben wouldn't be able to rely on her as much as before.

Would she be okay if Ben left? Would Bellwood still be the most normal city in the country after he came back? Would the planet still be standing if Ben just disappeared from its surface overnight?

It was all interrupted by a loud crash coming from the house.

"What was that?!" asked Ben.

"Trouble." said Max.

Both ran towards the house, only to find all the furniture ravaged. Their eyes widened as they saw Carl rapidly running (or rather, crouching) to get away from the big alien that threw everything he found around the house. Ben had hoped Vilgax didn't get impatient.

And he was right, because he never expected Vulkanus to be the one destroying the place.

"Where are you, Sixsix?! You can't hide from me, my workers told me you were seen around here!"

"Vulkanus!" said Max, helping Carl get back up. "What's he doing here?"

"Dad..." coughed Carl. "Who did you and Ben meet this summer, is he a friend of yours?"

"Not exactly."

The Detrovite stopped in his tracks, hearing the humans talk behind his back. He turned around, his eyes widening as he saw Ben.

"You! You're that brat who stopped me from making money last time! I'm gonna get you!"

Max took Ben and ran to the side before Vulkanus lunged at them, destroying a wall. All three Tennysons ran out before the Detrovite recovered.

"Who the hell is this guy?!"

Max looked at Ben, whose entire expression just screamed 'TELL HIM' while nudging his head towards Carl several times.

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

"So, you two came here because...?"

"It was an inter-planetary chase with Vulkanus and we had no other means of escape until we found you."

It was evident by now that if Vulkanus wanted Sixsix, he made himself pretty loud and obvious about it. If they wanted to get rid of him, Sixsix had to show himself. Which meant Kraab also had to get rid of their cover, forcing them to ask for help from the very same people they've been warned against by their employer.

"And what did Ben have to do with any of this?"

The Piscciss Premann turned to the brown-haired human glaring at him. While Carl Tennyson didn't have his father's Plumber skills, and he certainly didn't have Vilgax's glare like Ben did, his look certainly meant business.

"We already told you, Uncle Carl." said Gwen. "These guys used to fight Ben, but now we're cool. You know they must be pretty desperate if they had to ask help from Ben."

"Well excuse me! I didn't see you poofing Vulkanus away from Bellwood with that hocus pocus of yours!" said Ben, sticking his tongue out. Some things hadn't changed even though school had returned, including alien trouble.

Vulkanus had looked for Bicenthium Alloy all over town. Which meant gathering pieces and scraps of metal everywhere in town. Just enough until one generous rain of fire from Heatblast melted everything down on the Detrovite, trapping him like a statue once again.

"Now let's talk about what you two plan to do now that this is over..." said Max.

"Oh we don't plan on leaving the planet."

"Don't even think about-" he cut himself short as he realized what they said. "What?!"

"We have no way of quitting the Earth, and even if we did, we'd get caught by other Plumbers thinking we were responsible for Vulkanus' arrival. And while we are..." Kraab translated, "...we'd rather not be kept in containment cells while trying to go home. So we'll stick around for a while."

There was an awkward pause as the realization settled in. For once, people who attacked them twice before, who probably hated Plumbers for imprisoning them along with the rest of space police, who were the textbook definition of 'invaders from outer space'... wanted to stay on the planet?!

"Are you trying to run from someone? Or is there anything you're looking for?"

Kraab exchanged a look with Sixsix, who had been petting the Tennysons' dog while they were talking. They didn't have much of an excuse, and now that Max Tennyson knew they were nearby, they only had one solution left.

"Shelter. Ever since the wedding, after we escaped Incarcecon, our reputation as bounty hunters went down. We're basically unemployed and no one wants to hire us anymore. And if someone is looking for us, it's to kill us. You probably are used to that one."

"You're... space hobos now?" asked Gwen.

Ben erupted into laughter over their lame excuse. It was gutsy enough to show themselves again, help him while in public sight and ask help from Max, but officially say they're on the streets?! He almost wished Kevin was there to see he wasn't the only homeless superpowered dude in the country.

"And, you have nowhere to live in now?" asked Max.

They shook their heads 'no', unable to admit they were either sleeping inside the Rustbucket's compartments, or on nearby trees and inside bushes during the roadtrip.

"Someone has to keep an eye on them." said Ben. "I could do it, they could stay with us."

"Ben, are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Carl.

"Besides, honey..." said Sandra. "The house needs to be fixed, we ourselves will have to sleep elsewhere tonight."

"Oh, yeah..." realized Ben.

He knew he had to explain this to Vilgax somehow. At least the Forever Ninja hadn't been exposed, but it wasn't paid to protect him and could easily be dismantled if it failed its task.

"What about keeping a cover, doofus? These guys aren't exactly the most discrete aliens around, everyone in town will see them."

"If they cause trouble, we'll be there to stop them. And in case you haven't noticed, Gwen..." Ben pointed to what looked like some of his classmates and kids from their district cheering for him from afar. "I think my secret identity isn't so secret anymore."

"Don't come running to me if the police catches them stealing a garden gnome."

It confused Ben's parents to see the rest of the family casually talk about criminals from outer space. Then again, if Max had already told them about Verdona, then it made sense the kids weren't scared of some robotic soldiers from another planet. Not counting Ben's new watch, they still had to figure that one out, including when he got it.

Maybe it was time they had a discussion with Ben about these things, if Max didn't already tell them anything.

"Ben? After school tomorrow, do you mind if we talk a bit with your grandfather? There's some things we have to talk about. With you." said Sandra. She didn't expect Ben's expression to shift that quickly, especially not into a smile.

"I don't mind at all!" he gladly answered, before looking at his guards. "But, where are we gonna all go tonight, then? Think the hotel will accept them?"

"I'll fix us all something in the Rustbucket!" said Max, much to his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter's dread. "That way, we'll also keep an eye on these two if they make you uncomfortable."

"Yeah, uh, I gotta go home explain to my parents what's going on so they don't freak out." said Gwen, excusing herself before leaving.

"You? Cook? Yeah, let's go out, Dad." said Carl.

As the adults left, Ben noticed the bounty hunters weren't following.

"Are you coming?"

"Young master... this is such a violation of our contract. We cannot follow our task if we do this."

"Guys, you were hired to protect me. If you think Grandpa is a threat, it's in you're right to come with me and make sure he doesn't do anything wrong."

"He's hardly a threat when he doesn't know we're here, and now he doesn't even realize why we're really here for."

"Which means you're good at your job. C'mon, guys, I wouldn't wanna go through another school year without knowing you are by my side." He grabbed both of their arms, getting them to follow.

It was strange, to say the least. But he'd get them used to it. People viewed him as a hero, and if Sixsix and Kraab helped, they would be seen as heroes too. People would trust them, the Plumbers wouldn't harm his friends. And if they did anything, it'd only be to protect him, that's what they were there for, nothing more.

Maybe things were better this way.

"You never tried the local cuisine, have you?"

"We lived off the berries and fruits we found on our way, as well as the candies you gave us." Sixsix gurgled something that angered his partner. "That's not true! You're the one with a slow appetite, don't call me a food vacuum!"

Ben laughed. "Don't worry, guys. No one here knows you used to be bad guys or something like that. As far as everyone is concerned, we're cool."

As soon as he said that, a familiar spaceship materialized in front of them. Three figures teleported themselves with blue energy in front of the trio.

"By the provisions set forth in the Galactic Code of Conduct, I order you to surrender and leave the Omnitrix wearer alone!" warned Ultimos, leader of the Galactic Enforcers. "Will you yield?"

"Uhhhhhh..."

"Ben! Sixsix has brought an associate with him. I advise you to use that Arburian Pelarota form on them quickly!"

Sixsix and Kraab stepped back, as the three superheroes readied themselves to attack.

"GUYS, NO, I SAID WE WERE COOL!" shouted Ben, putting himself in front of his guards.

Ultimos blinked, turning to equally confused Synaptak and Tini.

"They're good guys now! You don't need to put them into space jail!"

"Really?"

Ben realized that the rest of the galaxy might also need to get the memo.

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

"So, that's the guy?"

"Yep. Certified hero wannabe, he's a freak like me."

"I like his style, though I never knew he hung out with actual aliens." said the young kid, observing Ben trying to reason with the three aliens in yellow tights. "If you didn't take us here to witness it, I don't think I would've believed it."

"That's just how gullible you can be, Alan." Kevin smirked, receiving a bag of chips on the head. "Alright, I deserved that one."

"Think you can ever talk to him so we wouldn't have to live off stolen food for the rest of our lives?"

"Don't count on me to talk to Tennyson, you've seen how he's worlds apart from runaway kids like us, he wouldn't run away from his problems but let them get to him. I'm nothing like him, he has no reason to help us."

"You just said he was a freak like you."

For once, Kevin actually regretted speaking up. At least Bellwood wouldn't be as boring as it used to be, and if Tennyson was around, he'd be busy trying to avoid him. Better than spending the rest of the year thinking about his parents out there.

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"Are you sure of this, Ben?"

"Yes, I'm sure, Dad."

Ben could only guess Vilgax had waited the whole two weeks just to fully process what happened.

His identity was exposed to the whole wide world with no apparent backlash. Yet. Miraculously, Ben's other identity as the young prince of Vilgaxia was nowhere to be heard of, so things were going as planned. Just, not the way anyone would've expected them to turn out.

He might need to send an explosive or too near one of Vulkanus' many mines, just to make sure he'd have nothing to harass his son with. What concerned him more for the time being was Ben's decision. Would he ever visit home someday? His choice suggested otherwise.

"Today, everyone in