Chapter 51: Race Against Time

Night in the town of Bellwood as a dark figure in a suit of purple armor and a long cape and a helmet completely obscuring their face as they generated an energy ball that blasted into the "Welcome to Bellwood" sign that caused the paint to peel off as if it was aging rapidly before it blew apart.

In the town, which was completely deserted, the figure suddenly appeared in a flash of purple energy, catching the attention of a nearby cat.

The mysterious figure looked up and saw the clock on the town hall. Inside, the gears of the clock started surging with energy and the hands of the clock immediately stopped ticking, causing time to stand still. However, every living creature was still moving, much to the figure's delight.

The figure then generated a ball of energy and then tossed it at a glass window, aging it before it blasted apart. It then walked forwards and blasted out more energy balls that blasted into the windows.

"Hey, dude," said a voice. "What's with all the noise?"

That was when Ben as Heatblast jumped in, followed by Jen as Blitzwolfer, who scratched behind her ear with her leg before yawning.

"People are trying to sleep, man," Heatblast yawned. "Couldn't you have waited until tomorrow to go on a rampage or something?"

The figure said nothing and only tilted its head.

"Uh, hello?" Blitzwolfer asked. "This is the part where you tell us your name. What your evil intentions are, yada yada."

"You know, man. You fight us, we fight you and one of us goes home happy," Heatblast said, pacing. "You have done this before, right?"

"Okay, we'll start," Heatblast said, generating a fireball. "I'm Heatblast!"

"And I'm Blitzwolfer!" she said before she let loose a sonic howl, which blasted straight into the figure, sending it crashing into a store window. "And you were just leaving."

The figure recovered and then generated an energy ball as Heatblast thrust himself forwards and then he was trapped in a forcefield.

"What... is this?" he asked before he was pushed back into the wall as Blitzwolfer ran over to him, her tail between her legs as she helped him up.

"I don't want anyone to get hurt. It doesn't have to be this way."

"I'm afraid it does," Heatblast said as he stood up, only to light the trash can on fire. "Oops."

Suddenly, the Omni-Twins heard the sirens ring out and then the cops showed up in their squad cars.

"Police! Nobody move!"

"We've got this under control, officers," Blitzwolfer said, waving her paw.

They heard a sudden growling from the rooftops as several henchmen parkoured downwards and flew forwards, flying into the area as the Omni-Twins gasped.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Heatblast said.

The henchmen quickly disarmed the officers and started punching and kicking them to disorient them as they groaned outwards.

"There's too many of them!"

"Okay. Maybe we don't have everything under control," Blitzwolfer said.

Heatblast then shot is hand out and created a firewall, separating the cops from the henchmen as the twins smiled and stood back to back.

"Okay, don't be shy," Heatblast said. "There's plenty of hero for everyone."

Blitzwolfer then howled at the moon with anticipation as she and her brother both engaged with the henchmen, slamming them back with their intense strength.

The figure simply observed the pair fight as the pair finished up with the henchmen as Blitzwolfer bared her claws.

"That was awesome!" she said to him. "Okay, lightbulb head. It's your turn!"

Heatblast gave out two fire blasts and Blitzwolfer opened her maw up and gave out her sonic howl, which blew the figure up.

"Huh," Heatblast said. "Is it me or was that a little too easy?"

"I know, right?"

The fire wall petered out and the cops saw that the Omni-Twins were gone from their view, their work finished.

They then looked up to see the energy fade from the clock tower and the clock started ticking again.

In another clearing, the twins stepped out and sighed in relief.

"That was weird," Heatblast said as the Omnitrixes timed down and they transformed back to human form in their PJs.

The Rust Bucket pulled up and Max, Gwen, Becky and Allison stepped out, sighing.

"Way to go, guys. You just torched the whole town," Gwen said as her sister nodded.

"Um... whoops," Ben winced.

"You okay, kiddos?"

"Yeah," Jen said, rubbing her arm. "We don't know about that guy we were fighting against. I have a feeling that's not the last of them."

"Yeah, but you guys were supposed to wait for us before you went alien, remember?" Allison asked, sighing disappointedly.

"Well, you girls take awhile to get ready."

"We're a team, remember?" Becky asked. "We depend on each other."

"That's enough, you guys," Max said. "We have to get out of here before the sheriff shows up. He doesn't trust you guys. Besides, Gwen's right. You two should've waited for our go ahead."

"But we're the leaders, Grandpa," Jen said. "And there were some other guys with him."

"You think that we should search for them?"

"No. You guys and the Omnitrixes are done for tonight. I've got to get you kids back home before your parents wake up. Besides, you've got to go to school tomorrow."

"Oh man!" Ben said as the group went inside the Rust Bucket and it drove off to drop the kids back home, except for Allison, who was staying with Max for the time being.

The twins rode out of the house on their bikes to school as they passed by the postman Mr. Hawkins as he put their mail in the box.

"Sorry, Mr. Hawkins," Jen said.

They went through the town, passing by some kids walking to school as they saw the fire chief by the truck from the scene of the previous night's battle.

"Hey, Tennysons, slow down," he said.

They stopped in the street as they saw a car pass by the other way.

"Thanks, Fire Chief Whittington," Ben said as they continued on their way before they got to school.

Jen took her helmet off as she and Ben locked their bikes to the rack as they looked up at the banner advertising the talent show.

"So, thinking about the Talent Show?" Ben asked as Jen nodded.

"Yep. Hired my band mates, wrote my song for the show. We're practicing every day. It's all ready."

"You won last year," Ben reminded her. "Who's to say you won't win again?"

"It's true!" they heard a female voice say. "I mean, that's what I heard."

"No," said her friend. "I heard that it was Heatblast and Blitzwolfer, the Omni-Twins who torched the town in pursuit of a supervillain."

"The Omni-Team? They're staying in Bellwood? No way."

"Actually," Ben said. "We heard that it was the Omni-Twins too."

"They're pretty cool, aren't they?" Jen asked.

"Whatever," the first girl said as she and her friend walked back to school.

Gwen and Becky stood by the entrance as Gwen took pictures of everyone going into the school as Ben leaped in front of the camera and made a funny face as Jen playfully rolled her eyes.

"Ben, come on. This is for the school yearbook," Becky said.

Jen smiled as she walked by. "Which of these poses will go good on the posters when I'm famous?" She then did a few poses as Gwen jabbed her in the shoulder.

"You're already famous."

"No, Omni-Pink is. Jen Tennyson isn't," Jen said. "She and her brother spent the entire summer fighting aliens."

"Correction," Becky said. "We spent the entire summer fighting aliens. The two of you, us, Allison and Grandpa."

"They're already making the posters of us. We're all over the news since we settled down here in Bellwood," Gwen said.

"Hey, cuz? Can I borrow your notes for that Latin quiz in Ms. Harrison's class?" Ben asked.

"Nice try, Ben," Gwen said. "We're not on a mission. The three of us don't have to take care of you all the time when we're at school."

"Take care of me?" he asked. "Who saved the town from a big metal dude last night?"

"The Omni-Twins," Becky sighed. "I'm sorry, but at home, you're not heroes. You're just plain old Ben and Jen Tennyson. And those aliens you turn into and our friends and Scarlett and Drake? They can't help you here."

"Bye," Gwen said as she and her sister hiked their bags up and walked away.

"Sorry, Ben. They're right," Jen admitted. "I can't help you with your notes here either. I don't want to be accused of cheating."

She then sighed and walked up the stairway to the school.

"Yeah, well I don't need your notes. I can do this on my own."

Later, as the kids were leaving the class, Ms. Harrison passed the papers back to them and Jen got a C+ and Ben got...

"A D? Aw man," Ben sighed.

In Gym class, the kids were in their jerseys as Ben and Jen stood on one side with a few kids as they prepared themselves.

"Bring it on! You're not getting one over on Ben and Jen Tennyson!" Jen said.

"Go!" the coach said as the twins got rained on with dodgeballs and they shouted out as they were out.

"Aw man!" Ben said.

Later, they were into the lockers and Ben unlocked his door to see it was stuck with gum on the edges and a huge wad in his locker.

"Aw man!" Ben said as Jen sighed and helped him clean it up.

"You know," Cash said as he and J.T. walked over. "You're supposed to chew the gum, Tennyson, not wear it. Just consider it a welcome back present from us, loser."

"You know, we could kick your butts any chance we got," Jen said, reminding them that they were the Omni-Twins.

"Stand down, Cash," Ben warned.

"Make us!"

"Good one, Cash."

"Can it, J.T.! So what are you going to do about it, Tennyson?"

Jen glared as her eyes briefly glowed pink, with the bullies not noticing as the huge wad of gum levitated in the air and she tossed it at them, only for it to miss and nail Principal White as he was walking down the stairs.

"Oops!"

"Tennyson," Principal White said, taking off his glasses as Cash and J.T. laughed and Ben and Jen sighed.

"Sorry," Ben said as Jen sighed and hiked up her backpack.

"You don't need to say anything, Principal White. We'll see you in detention."

After detention, back at the Tennyson Household, Ben and Jen were sitting at one end of the table with Carl and Sandra siting on the other end and Emma sitting in a baby chair at the side as the twins picked at their dinner.

"Look, it was an accident," Ben said. "Jen and I were just having a really bad day."

"We understand that, Ben," Sandra said. "But no one here wants you to follow your feelings."

"No," Carl agreed. "There's way too many emotional volcanoes in this world already."

"You blinded Principal White, Jen," Sandra said, concerned.

"Mom, Dad, it was just gum," Jen said.

"Okay, Jen, please," Sandra said. "Call us Sandra and Carl. We're all equals in this house."

"Sorry, the two of us would rather call you Mom and Dad," Ben said, nodding.

"...What Sandra is trying to say is that you two should find another outlet for your anger than violence. There's choices you can make, guys."

"Like?" Jen asked, spreading a bit of hummus onto her cracker.

"Music? Writing?" Sandra suggested as Jen bit into her cracker before she spit it out into her napkin.

"Did you put sage in the hummus?" Carl asked as Emma babbled with a laugh.

"Have to grow more in the backyard garden."

"Can we go now?" Ben asked. "We're gonna go see Grandpa."

"Oh," Carl said disappointedly.

"What?"

"Well, we were kind of hoping that you two would find friends your age to play with."

"Yeah, but kids our own age are boring. Grandpa is cool," Ben said.

"And we have friends. We've been practicing for the talent show together," Jen said.

"Well, sweetie," Sandra said to her. "We let you go on that road trip around the country with Carl's father the whole summer because it's important to us that you two feel independent."

"Yeah," Carl said. "Life experiences define us. And I know that Grandpa Max's stories are very exciting but they're not real life."

"You have no idea," Ben whispered under his breath.

"And why would you two want to hang out in that smelly old trailer of his all the time anyway?" Sandra asked.

"First of all," Jen began. "It's called the Rust Bucket. Secondly, it's not a trailer. It's a motor home."

"You two do realize the pollution that thing puts out due to the fuel it runs on."

"Okay, we've had enough," Ben said as he and his sister pushed their plates away from them and walked away with his sister kissing Emma on the head.

"Where are you two going/" Sandra asked.

"To see Grandpa and Allison," Jen said as they walked to the front yard where the Rust Bucket was parked.

"But-"

"No," Carl said. "They made a choice, Sandra. We have to respect that."

In the Rust Bucket, Max was going through his tool box as Allison lay on the couch watching Chopped on the TV.

"What's so cool about those tools anyway, Max?" Allison asked.

"These are things of beauty," Max said as he pointed a wrench at a picture that separated and fired a laser out that burned a hole in the wall.

"Okay, that's cool."

"Thanks, but it needs a little more work."

That was when Ben and Jen came in and Allison stood up.

"Hey there, guys."

"Grandpa, where are your keys?" Ben asked.

"Ben, Jen, why do you need my keys?" Max asked.

"Because we want to go on an adventure," Jen said.

"We gave school a few weeks, it sucks. It's time to be the heroes we are and hunt down some aliens."

Allison groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Come on," Ben said. "If we go now, we're going to miss the traffic."

"You want some squirrel jerky? It's a delicacy."

"We just ate, Grandpa," Jen said as she sat next to her best friend.

"Okay, girl," Allison said. "What happened?"

"It sucks being nobodies after we were heroes," Ben said.

"The whole school, Mom, Dad, everybody has no clue who we are after we found these," Jen said, showing her Omnitrix.

"That's good. They're not supposed to. Heroes are supposed to keep who they are a secret," Allison said.

"What's the point in having the Omnitrixes and our powers if we can't use them?" Ben asked.

"So you think that the kids will like you better if they know you're the Omni-Twins?"

"Well, yeah, Grandpa," Jen admitted.

"You might be right," Max admitted.

"So we can tell them?"

"I'm afraid not. That was summer and it's over now. We're home in Bellwood now. Ben and Jen Tennyson have to be Ben and Jen Tennyson again."

"He's right," Allison said. "It's your responsibility as kids and as heroes to keep this a secret."

"Yeah, but even though they know we're the Omni-Twins, Cash and J.T. still haven't stopped bullying me and Ben. At least Casey and Simone love us for who we are and not these things on the wrists."

"Why don't you kids make an effort at school tomorrow. Jump in with both feet. Just be kids again, Benjamin and Jennifer. That was not a request. That was an order."

"Okay," Ben said in defeat. "We promise."

That night, inside the town clock tower, the figure from the previous night, who was still alive and was revealed to be a girl, met with her henchmen as they gathered before her.

"Did you find them?"

"No," said one of them as they bowed.

"Of course you did not. This place is already dying for me. Rememberance fading, stolen away. I don't have much time left before I'm gone."

She then groaned as she hit her knees and leaned against a pillar as one of the figures went up to her.

"Mistress Era!"

"Don't touch me!" she said, blasting him away down the stairs and breaking his helmet open.

The remaining four figures went up to him in worry.

"No. Let him die. You exist to serve me not each other. Or would you rather I sent you back where you came from?"

The cloaked figures protested by shaking their arms.

Era nodded and opened her hands, showing a projection of several ships in orbit flying overhead as her henchmen nodded.

"My journey here is nearly at its end. My people are depending on me. At last they will rise from their dark sleep in the Phantom Zone. This time, nothing shall thwart me once I find and destroy the Master Spark: Jennifer Tennyson as well as her brother."

The next morning, Ben and Jen walked towards the school once again as they saw the girls from the previous day practicing their cheerleading routine for the talent show as Jen nodded in confirmation.

"I've got my work cut out for me this year."

"Jump in with both feet," Ben repeated his grandfather's words. "Be a normal kid again."

"Well, I guess it can't be harder than stopping aliens," Jen said as she walked up.

Ben then walked up to the girls and nodded. "Hi, I'd like to be in the talent show."

"What's your thing?" the black girl asked.

"Hello, what do you do?"

"Well, I'm awesome at-"

"This is a talent show, not a talent stare," the white girl said as they both laughed and high-fived.

"Okay, I'll show you what I can do," Ben said as he showed his Omnitrix, much to Jen's worry.

"What kind of lame-o watch is that?" the black girl asked.

"Ben! Put that away!" Gwen said, walking up. "You know that trick's not ready yet!"

"What trick?" Ben asked.

"For our... magic act. You know, the one we performed all over the country this summer?"

"What would he do without us to remind him?" Becky asked nervously.

"You guys are magicians?"

"Oh yes. We're kind of famous," Gwen lied. "When people hear that The Amazing Gwendini and her assistant are performing, they're going to pack this place."

"Assistant?"

"Go with it," Becky said.

"Well, we don't have a magic act."

"You do now."

"You guys had better keep practicing if you want to beat them or me and my band," Jen smiled as they walked away.

"Since when do we have an act, Gwen?" Ben asked.

"Since about 10 seconds ago. We need to practice."

"So do I," Jen said.

"Great. I love just being a kid."

Ben and Jen rode their bikes along the road to stop at Le Rou's Restaurant and parked their bikes inside as Jen walked into the area and saw Allison in the restaurant's uniform waiting tables.

"Hey, guys," she said as she walked over to them as they sat at the bar.

"How's the job?" Jen asked.

"It's good. Waiting tables is kind of lame but I hope to be the chef and then one day leave and open my own place. Ally's."

"Haven't seen you guys here in awhile," the owner, Doris Dalton, said.

"Jen and I were gone over the summer, Mrs. Dalton."

"I was there with them, Doris," Allison said.

"Did you do anything fun?"

"Nah, just went around with our cousins and Grandpa. And our friend," Jen said.

"Well, you tell Max I said 'hello,'" she said. "And tell him my toilets haven't worked the same since he stopped fixing 'em. What can I get for you kids?"

"How about something that isn't vegetarian or has squirrel in it."

"Coming right up, kids."

Louise left and Ben turned to see the cash register had a symbol of a symbol with the slogan "Plumbus est Infinitus" on it.

"Bellwood, blah. We may as well be in the Null Void with Kevin right now."

"I'll give you one thing, bro. It'd be more interesting than this."

Louise then came by again and handed the two a strawberry milkshake for Ben and a chocolate milkshake for Jen.

"These ought start you off fine. See you in a bit, honey."

As the twins sipped at their milkshakes, they turned to see an old man reading a newspaper with a headline of Wildmutt and Wildcat running through the town, saving the day.

"Can we see that?" Ben asked.

"I don't know," the old man said. "Can you?"

He laughed and handed the newspaper to the kids as they read to see the headline suggesting "Are there aliens among us?"

"Well, there are. But we can't tell anyone that," Jen said with a sigh.

The door opened and Cash and J.T. walked in.

"Talking to yourselves again, Tennysons?" Cash asked.

They saw Wildmutt and Wildcat on the picture as they laughed.

"Who's that? Your new girlfriend, Ben?"

"I dare you two to say that to Wildmutt's face. He'll chew you up and spit you out," Jen glared. "You know what we can do."

"Yeah, I dare you to transform into them in front of us. You can't pull them out of your butt here."

"Good one, Cash."

"Can it, J.T.!"

"It's not out of our butts anyway."

That was when the girls from earlier showed up as Casey and Simone stood up from one of the tables and groaned.

"Hey, look. It's the little magician's assistant and the singer who's going to kick our butts," the white girl said.

"Thinking up some fresh new tricks?"

"That's it!" Ben said as they slammed the paper down and ran away as the girls laughed behind them.

"Seriously?" Simone asked. "What are Sabrina and Jasmine's problem?"

The twins hid behind the wall and nodded to each other.

"Okay, remember Grandpa's thing about just being kids? Yeah, forget that."

"It's payback time, bro," Jen agreed as they prepared their Omnitrixes to the desired form.

"I think that Four Arms would give these guys the what for," Ben said as they both slammed the cores down.

The Omnitrix sank into Ben's wrist as his hands and feet grew grey-blue and slimy as they secreted mucus from his pores and only had four fingers and three toes. The Omnitrix symbol grew on his back and the blue spread to the rest of his skin as his eyes grew huge and buggy, taking up the entire upper half of his face as the pupils turned sideways and rectangular and his mouth was filled with sharp teeth. His hair and nose vanished as he shrunk to three inches tall. His attire shifted to a green one-piece bodysuit that fit his body with wraps around his feet. He struck a pose as the transformation finished.

Her skin turned an icy blue and started radiating cold air and her eyes shot open to reveal bright glowing pink eyes with no pupils and her hair shifted into blue spikey hair like ice. Her clothes then shifted to a pink ballerina-like outfit complete with the skirt and flat shoes. Her body then shrank to 3 inches high and a pair of insect wings grew out of her back. The watch symbol appeared on the belt of her skirt and she flew around, striking a pose as her transformation finished.

"Aw, man," Frostblight said as she flew through the air and Grey Matter hopped up.

"Hmm," he pondered. "Maybe we can work with this."

The twins then snuck into the building, ducking and dodging the patrons and hiding on the counter as they looked to see Cash and J.T. at a table.

"Hey, watch this," Cash said as he waded up the wrapper with his straw and chewed it up before sticking it into the straw before spitting it into Simone's hair.

"Hey! That is so immature, Cash!"

"Oooh," Frostblight said, balling her fist. "J.T. and Cash are gonna get theirs!"

"Wait," Grey Matter said, holding her back and examined the cabinets and hot dog rotisserie and fountain machine. "Pastry projectiles, meat-filled torpedoes, stain the clothes, dirty the face... Awesome!"

He and his sister looked to each other wickedly as they ducked and dodged through the restaurant, catching the attention of no one... except for Allison out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh, those two better not cost me my job," she said, going back to work.

Grey Matter leaped up to the light switch and killed the lights as Frostblight cackled to herself, rubbing her hands.

Everyone started to panic as being the smart ones, Simone and Casey immediately fled the restaurant and went outside as Allison urged them out before following herself.

"What do we have here?" she asked herself as she adjusted the wires in the air conditioner. "Red to blue, blue to red, food goes flying on your head!"

Grey Matter then adjusted the soda dispenser nozzles by the bar as he smirked. "Liquid attack mode."

Frostblight smirked as she fixed up the hot dog rotisserie and then flew over to the door and laughed to herself as she froze the door shut, smiling to Allison, Casey and Simone as they smiled back at her, with a look of worry from Allison as she looked at her name tag and apron.

"And here... we... go," Grey Matter said as he flipped the light switch back on and the air conditioner sparked out

The pastry spinner flew around, sending pies everywhere, specifically to Cash and J.T., Sabrina and Jasmine as they were also soaked with soda and the hot dogs went flying out at them.

"What in the world?" Doris asked as she ducked under the bar counter.

Grey Matter shouted out as he threw eggs out as Cash and J.T. were both soaked with ice cream and soda.

The girls broke the door open from its frozen hinges and everyone ran out in a panic as the shenanigans died down.

The old man, completely oblivious to the chaos, held up his cup.

"Doris, more coffee please."

Grey Matter and Frostblight were both rolling on their backs, laughing hysterically.

"You were right, bro! That was awesome!" she said.

"Am I a genius or what?"

Cash and J.T. stumbled out, completely soaked from head to toe in pie and ice cream.

"I don't feel so good, dude," J.T. said.

"Can it, J.T.! Let's get out of here," Cash said.

In the Rust Bucket, which was at Gwen and Becky's home, Gwen was on her laptop with Becky over her shoulder as Ben snuck in the window and scared them.

"Boo!"

"Aah!"

Jen and Allison walked into the R.V. and smiled.

"You two just totally screamed like a couple of girls."

"That's because we are girls," Becky said, pushing Ben out the window and he groaned.

"You just totally screamed like a boy."

"What are you doing, Gwen?" Allison asked a few minutes later after she changed out of uniform into her regular clothing.

"Just downloading the yearbook photos."

"Where's the one of me?" Ben asked as he looked at the laptop with the girls crowding him. "This picture's terrible, it's all blurry."

"No it's not," Jen said as she saw the blurry figure next to it and raised her brow.

"Whoa," Gwen said as she focused i on the image. "What is that thing?"

"Can you focus it?" Jen asked.

"Hang on," Gwen said as she started rapidly typing in codes and focused intently as she slowly focused in the frame and finished up.

"Whoa," Ben said. "That's the figure we turned into a fireworks display a few days ago."

"Or, we thought we did anyway."

"But if he's in this picture, that means that not only is he not dead. He knows who you are," Becky said.

"Why would he fight you two and then pretend to die?" Allison asked.

"Maybe he was testing us to see how good we are," Ben suggested.

"You mean like research?" Gwen asked.

"Is that so crazy a theory?" Jen asked.

"Considering our reputation around the country? No," Becky admitted.

"What are you two doing in here?" Max asked as he stepped inside, holding a certain cephalopod.

"Grandpa, what is that?" Ben asked.

"Octopus. Great taste."

"Do you know this guy?" Gwen asked as she gestured to the figure on her computer.

"Girl," Max said, looking at the figure. "And there isn't a Plumber alive who doesn't. Her name is Era, a Chronian."

"You mean you fixed this guy's toilet?" Ben asked.

"Not those Plumbers, Ben," Becky said.

"The Plumbers. The secret ones who hunt aliens. Grandpa used to work for them," Gwen reminded.

"Oh! Those Plumbers. I knew that."

"Era was the beginning. She was the first alien captured nearly 200 years ago by the original Plumbers," Max said. "According to the archive, she was half dead by the time we found her and she was working on a device known as the Hands of Armageddon."

"Armageddon?" Allison asked, worried.

"What was it?" Jen asked.

"It took us many years to find out exactly. The Hands of Armageddon, as the name suggests, is a Doomsday Machine capable of opening a gateway into another dimension."

"You mean like the Null Void?" Ben asked.

"Similar. We assumed it meant the start of an alien invasion that would mark the end of the human race as we know it. Era was the beginning and she brought with her the start of our end. Pack your things. We're going on a road trip."

"Yes!" Jen said as she and Ben high-fived. "The Omni-Team is back in business!"

The Rust Bucket drove through the desert as Jen looked out the window and winced.

"Where are we?" Jen asked.

"This looks like nowhere," Allison agreed.

"It's better than boring old Bellwood," Ben said. "I'm just itching to get back in the action."

"Normal life isn't that bad once you get used to it, you know," Gwen said. "And Ben, you wore that shirt all summer, don't you ever wash it?"

"It's my lucky shirt. Why would I wash the luck off it?"

"I can't reach anybody," Max said, hanging up the phone. "But we'll be there soon enough."

The Rust Bucket reached a Chem Lab at the top of the hill and stopped in front of a gate with the phone on the end off its hook. Max took out a crate of remote controls and went through several before he found the one that opened the gate and drove through.

"The Chem Lab was built to conduct tests of alien lifeforms and technologies. We kept Era locked up here in deep freeze. A highly guarded secret even from the Plumbers themselves.

Soon, the Omni-Team suited up to be careful and walked along as Omni-Pink nervously wringed her hands.

"It's quiet here," she said.

"Is anything here anymore?" Omni-Green asked.

"This Era chick was supposed to be," Matter Girl said.

"'Supposed to be' is right, Allison," Max said as he gestured to an area to see it leaking steam from the open door.

Max opened the concave doors to show an open container and several leaking tanks of liquid nitrogen.

"Whoa!" Omni-Green said. "This is cool."

"Yeah, as in freezing cool," Lucky Girl said, bundling up.

"We have to find Constantine Jacobs. Come on," Max said, gesturing the team to follow him.

"Who?"

"He's the Plumber in charge of Era."

They walked into the security area to see the computers and tech completely trashed and papers strewning the area, making a complete mess.

Huntress 'eeped' as she saw the computers spark out and she gulped nervously.

"Jacobs," Max said as he saw the chair with a figure in it.

He then turned the chair around to reveal a figure that was completely dessicated and had his eyes closed. His skin was completely wrinkled and he had barely any hair and the hair he did have was completely white.

"Gross," Lucky Girl said as Matter Girl held her.

"I'm sorry, Constantine," Max said to the corpse. "I wish we could've gotten here sooner."

Omni-Green then briefly felt at the hand before it grabbed onto his arm and Omni-Pink pulled him back as he screamed and the arm broke off and she blasted it away with an energy bolt.

"I'm not dead yet!" Constantine shouted weakly as everyone calmed down from the shock.

"Constantine, can you hear me?" Max asked.

"Eraaaa," Constantine said.

"I know. Just hang on. We're going to get you some help."

"It's too late for me, Max..." Constantine said. "Era did this. She said she didn't want to kill anybody, so she simply aged me so I would die peacefully. Made me old in the blink of an eye. *cough* She's after the Hands. You can't let him find the Hardware Store or the rest of the Plumbers."

"There are other Plumbers?" Lucky Girl asked.

"You said they disbanded," Omni-Pink said.

"We kept a handful of them active to watch over our things. Dangerous things."

"Like the Hands of Armageddon," Matter Girl surmised.

"None of them were more dangerous. We never planned for this, kids."

"You're the ones," Constantine said to the twins. "The twins who found the Omnitrixes. Era knows about you two."

"How could she know about us?" Omni-Green asked.

"We've never seen him before the other night."

"She knows," he said to the twins. "Good luck, my children. You'll need it..."

He then gave out one last breath and passed away peacefully.

Omni-Pink bowed her head as she ran her hand over Constantine's face, closing his eyes as everyone gave a moment of silence for the fallen.

"He was a great friend. And a true Plumber," Max said on Constantine's behalf.

"What did he mean 'she knows?'" Omni-Green asked.

"I couldn't tell you," Max said. "That's why I keep telling you kids to be careful. This is no game."

The twins looked at each other concerned as Jen got ready.

After deactivating their suits, the team walked out of the Chem Lab towards the Rust Bucket.

"Guess we won't have to go back to school," Ben said.

"Not the point," Gwen said.

"He's got a point," Jen said. "We have to find this Era and the Hands of... whatever."

"Armageddon," Allison said. "It means 'The End of the World.'"

"I know that... now," Ben said.

"Maybe we should start with this super secret hideout Constantine was talking about. What was it? The Hardware Store?" Jen asked.

"I'll bet it's in this super secret location surrounded by hidden traps!" Ben said. "Am I right?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Max waved it off. "Now get in, kids."

The team arrived at the Hardware Store which appeared to be from the front gate... what it says on the cover.

"Um, Ben? This doesn't look like a super secret location," Becky said as everyone got out of the Rust Bucket.

"Miller's Hardware? In Bellwood?" Jen asked.

"A regular hardware store? Is this a joke, Grandpa?" Ben asked. "Because it's not very funny."

"Ben's right. Why would the Plumbers hide out here?" Gwen asked.

"Okay, kids. Come on," Max said as he took out his keys.

"Grandpa, we've been here a hundred times," Jen said.

"Good. Then you kids should know where everything is."

He then put his key into the lock and he nodded.

"Counter-clockwise is the key. One. Two. Three," he turned the key three times before turning to Ben "It's impolite not to flush."

Ben then walked over and pushed the valve down, which made a flushing sound.

Two seconds after that happened, an elevator suddenly shot up from the ground in front of the store and the kids stumbled back in awe.

"I thought you said you two had been here before," Max smiled as he gestured the kids into the elevator.

After everyone was inside, Max pressed a button and the elevator shot down to who knows where.

Little did they know, one of Era's goons was watching the whole time and leaped off the balcony to tell his master.

The kids waited in the elevator as Kenny G's "Songbird" played over the radio and Gwen looked at her watch and sighed.

"How far down does thing go anyway?" Allison asked.

Max then pulled out a plastic bag from his pocket and offered it to the kids.

"How about some cricket antennae? Helps to pass the time."

"No thanks," Becky said.

"Pass," Jen agreed.

"More for me," Max said, munching on the crickets as the elevator reached the bottom floor.

The doors opened and the Omni-Team looked around, stunned, as the twins and Allison looked up to see the symbol from the diner emblazoned on the front wall.

"Hey we've seen that icon all over Bellwood," Ben said.

"Well that's no surprise. It's been the icon of the Plumbers for centuries," Max explained.

"Check out the security in this place," Gwen said as she looked at the wall. "Geometric scanners. Delta full motion trackers. This is sweet."

"What did you kids think? That we were just gonna ring a doorbell?"

He then rang a doorbell to prove his point and the doors opened to show four adults standing in the background, working on something.

"Ben, Jen, Gwen, Becky and Allison, I'd like to introduce you to the last of the legendary Plumbers," Max said, leading the kids in. "No doubt you'll recognize some of them."

"No way," Jen said in awe as her jaw dropped as the Plumbers turned around.

"Mrs. Dalton? Boss?" Allison asked.

"That was sure some ice cream party that Grey Matter and Frostblight threw those kids," Doris said, impressed.

"Mr. Hawkins?" Gwen asked.

"The postman?" her sister agreed.

"Good to see you kids."

"Fire Chief Whittington?" Ben asked.

"You kids have been keeping me very busy," he said.

"And Principal White?" Jen asked, the most shocked of all.

"Sorry about that detention the other day, Ben and Jen," Principal White said. "Didn't want to blow my cover."

"Okay, now I'm officially confused," Ben said.

"Ditto," Jen said, awestruck.

"Explanations will have to wait till later. Let's move people," Principal White said as he got his headset on and flipped a few switches as the floor they were on moved outwards.

"Why didn't you tell us, Grandpa?" Gwen asked. "Our neighbors are Plumbers?"

"Take us to the Hands, Ed," Max told Principal White.

"Wait," Allison asked. "You mean the Hands of Armageddon are here?"

"Of course. Where else would we store them?"

The kids looked out in awe at the huge area of technologies and alien weaponry before them.

"Whoa," Jen said. "You mean that all this has been under Bellwood all along?"

"No, Jen," Becky said. "They just put it in last week. What do you think?"

Ed stopped the track at an open area and the group looked out and Becky had her spear ready.

"So, Bellwood?" Ben asked. "All of this was built underground to protect the Hands of Armageddon?"

"I guess Bellwood's not as boring as we thought it was," Jen said.

Max stopped them by the Tesla coils by them and pointed to a device that looked like the Mayan Calendar in design.

"Is that-" Gwen began.

"The Hands of Armageddon," Max confirmed.

"Why didn't you just destroy it?" Allison asked.

"We've tried, honey," Doris said. "Over the years we Plumbers have thrown everything we've got at it, both human and alien. But the Hands have this... annoying way of deflecting us."

Ed then stepped up to them. "First time we tried, the force of energy accidentally created the Grand Canyon, or so our predecessors said. One of the next times started the Chicago Fire. Mrs. O'Leary's cow, that was a cover story. And I personally kicked off the Great Quake of '89. That was a rocky afternoon, I'll tell you what."

"This thing is a disaster waiting to happen," Ben said. "No wonder they call it the Hands of Armageddon."

"We've devoted our lives to making sure that the Hands are never used for their true purpose," Max explained.

"But it's been quite a few years since we last had to fight Eon off the darn thing," Fire Chief Whittington said.

"But we're too old and too few now," Doris said.

"IT sounds like you need a team to help you save the world," Jen said. "Heroes."

"That would be us," Gwen nodded.

"It is us you're talking about, right? Because you have no problems. We're ready to fight," Ben said. "We promise not to let you down."

"We're there with you," Allison said.

They heard a beeping and Mr. Hawkins pressed his radio to hear...

"Security breach, Sector V."

"They're here," he realized. "Let's go. Get the weapons."

Our heroes suited up as Ed and Doris ran over to a chest and Ed fumbled with his key ring that held several keys.

"Let's go, Ed!" Doris said. "Hurry up!"

"I'm going! My memory's not what it used to be."

"Oh for the love of Pete!" Doris said as she grabbed a large wrench. "Get out of the way, Ed!"

Ed moved and Doris smashed the lock in with the wrench and opened the trunk as Ed found the key.

"This is it. I kept a little ring on it so I'd recognize it."

The team then got out their weapons and ran upstairs.

"Let's do this, people!" Matter Girl said as she absorbed the metal from the floor and readied her axe arms with a glare as the hooded goons showed up with parkour flips towards them.

The Plumbers shot out their blasters towards them as Matter Girl smashed one in the head with her massive strength and cut one's arm with her axe hand.

He roared to her before he was struck in the chest with an arrow. He fell over as Huntress stood behind him with her bow ready and she stood beside her friend as she readied her spear.

"I could've handled him you know."

"You're welcome!"

They ran towards the twins to protect them as the Plumbers stood side by side and smashed one of the goons with a wrench, sending him flying back.

Omni-Green and Omni-Pink aimed their wrist blasters and fired out at the goons as they approached and Omni-Pink dodged a swipe with a flying kick.

"I have to buy another lock tomorrow, you know," Ed said to Doris as they dodged.

"Are you kidding me? Keep firing, Ed!"

"I have to get a combination so I won't have to remember what key it is."

As the chaos continued, a Plumber stood by the Hands when Era suddenly appeared in a flash of purple energy and pushed him back. She looked around at the chaos in the Plumbers base and looked to see the Omni-Twins battling as hard as they could.

She turned around and saw what she had been looking for.

"After so long, you are mine."

She then generated an energy ball and tried to shove it into the device, but it disappeared.

"Just as I feared. Nothing."

Max blasted out with his blaster as Lucky Girl sent out multiple spells from her hands that blasted the goons backwards and turned to the twins as they stood back to back.

"Don't just stand there, go hero!"

"Right!" Omni-Green said. He dialed in the core and transformed into Four Arms. He shouted out and slammed the goons backwards with his immense strength.

As Omni-Pink was about to slam her core down to transform, she shouted out in pain as her Omnitrix was enveloped in a purple energy.

"What the?" she asked as she was suddenly caught by Era as she smiled.

"Hello, Jen Tennyson."

"Let me go!"

She then grabbed the young heroine and carried her out of the complex.

"Ben! Help me!" she shouted.

"Jen!" he said as he ran through the fortress to try to catch up with his sister and rescue her.

"What are you doing to me?!" she shouted as Era went for the Omnitrix.

"Rescuing you. Helping you fulfill your destiny."

She then enveloped the Omnitrix in her energy and tried to dial it in before Omni-Pink gave a pink energy punch and sent her back and ran away with a scream as she ducked into an alleyway and tried to adjust her malfunctioning Omnitrix as she shouted out.

"Come on! Don't malfunction now!"

"There is nowhere you can run now. Just surrender."

Omni-Pink ran away and ran away and gulped nervously.

"Help!"

"Come out, Jennifer."

Jen's eyes then spotted the diner as she saw her bike sitting in the rack and she deactivated her Omni-Suit and drove away on her bike as fast as she could before she looked back and saw a car's lights open and start following her.

"Oh, come on!"

She then rode on her bike as fast as her little legs could carry her as Era followed her in the car, manipulating it with her energy as she dodged other cars and a truck followed her into an alleyway as she dialed in her Omnitrix.

"What is with this thing? Somebody help me! Please!"

"Nobody can help you, Jennifer. What is happening here is inevitable."

Four Arms suddenly leaped in and smashed the truck and sent it flying back with a shout as he looked up at Era and held Jen back.

"You died. We burned you up ourselves," he said.

"Allow me to explain. In the world where I came from, my people have the ability to manipulate time at its base level. By distorting the molecules around my form, it was but a simple manner to create the illusion that I wanted you to see. Nothing more than a cheap parlor trick, really. But sufficient to test you and your sister's powers."

The twins stood at attention as Four Arms timed out.

"Why don't you go back to your home world where someone cares what you think?" Jen asked.

"Sadly, I cannot do that. Not without the help of the Master Spark. You see, Omni-Twins, I am a prisoner of time as is the entire Chronian race. But not for long."

"We're not going to let you have either of the Omnitrixes, Era," Ben said.

"You don't have a choice. None of us do."

Out of nowhere, laser blasts flew out and Era shot back in pain as they looked to see the old man from the restaurant climb the staircase nearby and blast at Era as she glared at the twins.

"You got lucky. This isn't over."

She then enveloped herself with energy and teleported away.

"She's right," Ben said. "It isn't."

"Go on! Get, you ugly junebug!"

"You?" Jen asked. "You're a Plumber too?"

"Of course I am!" he said. "Don't you know a disguise when you see one?"

"That's a disguise?" Ben asked.

"No. Ha! Got ya! Now you two hustle on home before she gets back. I'll clean up this mess. To tell you the truth, this is the most fun I've had in years!"

The twins sighed and took their bikes back home.

At the Tennyson residence, the twins parked their bikes and slowly walked back into their home and past the hall entrance... not noticing that their parents were waiting for them by the area.

"Ben, Jen," Carl said. "Come here please?"

The twins stopped in their tracks and turned to see their parents sitting at the dining room table.

"Did we do something to hurt your feelings?"

"What?" Jen asked.

"We want you two to feel free to have a dial on with us," Sandra said.

"Mom-" Ben began.

"Sandra."

"What are you guys talking about?" Jen asked.

"You didn't come home for dinner," Carl said. "And you didn't even call us to let us know where you were going. Emma missed you guys so much."

"Not that we want to restrict you two."

"No, no. Freedom is precious, I've always said."

"No," Ben said. "It's not you guys at all."

"I was out practicing with my backup band," Jen lied.

"And I was with Gwen practicing for the school talent show."

"A talent show?" Sandra asked. "Why didn't you just say so?"

"That's great!" Carl said. "Jen's trophy from last year must be getting lonely. Now you guys can show everyone just how talented the Tennysons are."

"Oh, Carl, honey, we should show them the tape from our experimental theater days."

"Oh no we shouldn't!"

"Your father was so- I mean he- oh man. We did mime, we did mask work."

"Yeah, we're not so interested," Jen said. "I'm going to bed."

"Me too," Ben said.

"Okay, sweethearts," Sandra said as they walked up the stairs.

"Don't show our kids those tapes. Goodnight, you two."

Jen yawned as she and her brother walked up the stairs to their rooms as she and Ben gave a hug and smiled.

"Goodnight, bro," Jen said as she went into her room to get changed into her PJs along with Ben.

She then went into her walk-in closet and changed into her PJs before a light turned on behind her and she saw Max sitting in a chair by her side as Ben walked in, now changed into his PJs as well.

"Grandpa?" Ben asked.

"I saw you two come in," he said as Jen picked up Emma from her crib and cradled her in her lap as Max sat down beside her on her bed. "I radioed the Plumbers in Bellwood about what happened with Era. I'm just glad the pair of you are alright."

"Are the girls okay?" Jen asked as Max tickled Emma's cheek and she giggled in her sleep.

"They're fine. The Plumbers took a hit but at least we know what we're dealing with now."

"Grandpa," Jen said, touching her grandfather's hand. "When I tried to use my Omnitrix, right before Era grabbed me, it started to glow and burn. And when Era grabbed it, it somehow stopped working when it came to letting me transform."

"And for some reason, that didn't happen to mine."

"It did?" Max asked as Jen stuck out her left wrist and Max felt at the Omnitrix, which was now glowing pink again. "It seems fine to me now."

"It's not the first time it's glowed like that. And Era told us that what was happening was inevitable. That I was a part of it," Jen said as Emma slept peacefully in her lap.

"Ben, Jen," Max said. "The Plumbers are afraid that Era needs one of the Omnitrixes, which seems to be Jen's, to power the Hands of Armageddon. That might explain why she went after you and left the Hands behind. She couldn't use it on her own."

"Oh," Jen said.

"We want to get you two out of the town. It's for your own safety."

"What?" Ben asked. "No way. We're superheroes, we don't run away."

"You can't look at it that way."

"True, true," Jen said. "But your logic is also flawed. If Era wants my Omnitrix, she's going to find me. It doesn't matter where we go."

"Jen-"

"You and the Plumbers said that it's up to us to protect the town now, Grandpa," Ben said. "So just let us. Let Era come and find us here in Bellwood. And when she does, we'll take her down once and for all. Together. As a team."

"We can do this, Grandpa," Jen said. "We promise."

"Okay," Max said in defeat. "But there's going to be Plumbers watching you two around the clock."

"We're 11 years old, Grandpa. We don't need a babysitter,' Jen said.

"Then we don't have a deal."

"Okay!" Ben said. "We'll take the babysitters."

"Good. Now it's bedtime for you two."

"Thank goodness," Jen said as she put Emma back into her crib and kissed her cheek as Ben turned to leave and she got under the covers.

"Ben, Jen, you know that I didn't want this life for you kids. I shielded it from your father and your grandma before she passed. Most people never get to see what goes on behind the curtains. I've never had that choice. I wanted you to have the choice. I won't let anything hurt you kids."

"Good," Ben said. "Because we'll never let anything hurt you, Grandpa."

Max chuckled as he kissed Jen on the forehead and hugged Ben before he walked away.

Meanwhile, in another dimension, a fleet of ships was slowly moving forwards and slowly glowing with blue lights.

That was when a certain orange spaceship glared on her monitor at the fleet and she glared.

Samus used her enchantlet to show Queen Angella of Bright Moon as she nodded.

"Angella, we've got a situation going on at Earth Prime," she reported.

"The Hands of Armageddon," the immortal queen said to herself as she nodded. "We're sending you and Sofia to Bellwood to investigate. The Plumbers have had the Hands for about 200 years and tried to destroy them unsuccessfully."

"Yeah, but they've never had the help of the Protectors," Samus said as she dialed in her destination. "We're going in."

She then activated her ship's light speed function as she flew forwards.

Ben and Jen stood by the stairway to Bellwood Middle School with a sigh as the bullies went by with a smile.

"Hey, what's happening, Lameson 1 and 2," Cash said as he and J.T. laughed and walked away.

Jen glared as she pointed her finger outwards slightly and sent a tiny energy bolt outwards to shock Cash in the butt as he groaned and rubbed it as she scoffed to herself.

Simone and Casey walked up and smiled.

"Hey, Jen," Simone said. "Remember. The talent show's tomorrow. We're ready, are you."

"Of course," Jen said with a sigh as her friends walked into the school as their cousins walked up to them with their backpacks ready.

"Hi," Becky said. "Any luck with Era yet?"

"Are you kidding?" Ben asked. "Grandpa's got almost every Plumber in the neighborhood looking for her or her goons."

"Look," Jen said, gesturing to the undercover Plumbers who nodded back at them with a smile. "There's Mr. Enguells, the facility guy, Mr. Jennings from the phone company, heck, we've even got Old Lady. Carlisle and her plants!"

"Era's not stupid," Ben said. "There's no way that she's going to show up here when there's this many Plumbers crawling around."

"Well that gives us plenty of time to practice," Gwen said, unpacking her backpack, which was filled with tons of stereotypical magic supplies like cards and toy doves.

"What is all this?"

"Magic tricks for the talent show tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll handle the magic stuff. You can just sit there and hand me stuff."

"Gee, that sounds like something a lovely assistant does. That job's for girls."

"Times have changed, cuz," Gwen said. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll look lovely in a leotard."

"What's the point of the talent show, anyway?" Jen asked. "If we don't stop Era, fitting in at the school isn't going to matter."

"She's right," Ben said. "That's what matters the most right now."

The two hiked up their bags and walked off to the gymnasium where Ben kicked a ball away and sat down on the bleachers, when a old face greeted them.

"Hey, Ben and Jen," Ed said, startling them. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I saw you two come in. I'm just making sure you're okay."

"Yeah. We're fine, Principal White" Jen said.

"It must be strange for you since you know that I'm a Plumber."

"Yeah," Ben said. "It really is. Almost every adult in the town's practically a Plumber. I mean, you're Principal White, the creepy guy no one likes."

Ed looked at them sadly as Jen looked to him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. We didn't mean-"

"Oh, no offense taken," Ed said. "It's the perfect cover. Anyway, you guys coming back out?"

"Nah," Ben said. "The two of us just need some times to ourselves."

"If you ever need me or any of the other Plumbers-"

"You'll be watching. We know the drill," Jen said.

Ed walked away, dribbling the ball before he turned back to them and smiled.

"Oh, and guys? Just one more thing..."

Ben and Jen suddenly stood up as they saw their principal slow down to practically a crawl before he spoke again.

"...gniht erom eno tsuJ ?syug dna, hO"

Suddenly, he screamed as he was tossed across the gym into a bin of balls with a crash.

Jen shouted out as she felt her left wrist burn from her Omnitrix again, glowing purple as Era suddenly appeared in a flash of light.

"Hello again," she said as the twins turned to run before she grabbed Jen. "I must say that with all of those Plumbers around, I was beginning to think that we would never have a moment alone again."

"You'll never get away with this."

"Oh, but I must," Era said. "Now, Jennifer. I will show you your future."

Era dialed her enemy's Omnitrix in as Ben activated his Omni-Suit and pulled the fire alarm, sending out the bell. Jen then punched Era in the stomach and she activated her Omni-Suit before she and her brother slammed the cores down.

Ben's watch sank into his wrist and it became encased in green diamond before it covered his other arm and his head before it closed around his eye and it became fully golden. Four spike-like diamonds, the lower pair smaller than the upper pair, grew out of his back and his clothes morphed into a bodysuit, black on one side, white on the other. The watch symbol was on his upper left bicep as the transformation ended.

"Gym class is now in session," Needle Mouse said, baring her quills.

"Today, we play 'Pummel the Creepy Alien Dude," Diamondhead said, pounding his fist into his hand.

Era glared and fired out several energy balls at the kids and Diamondhead blocked them with his hands, which he morphed into a shield as Needle Mouse spun forwards and slammed into her, sending her backwards.

"Try these!" Diamondhead said as he shot out his crystals that pummeled into Era as Needle Mouse spun forwards and sent her quills outwards and stuck her clothes into the walls.

"Right back at ya," Needle Mouse said, unfurling back into her bipedal state.

Era chuckled at the sound of the ringing bells.

"What's so funny?"

"When the fire alarm rings, the entire school gathers at the courtyard through which room, Jennifer?"

"Aw man," Diamondhead said, looking towards the sound of the advancing crowd. "Give us a break."

They looked back to see Era had vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Run!" Needle Mouse said as they both ran for the nearest exit.

The students and faculty all filed into the gym to see a few stray quills and crystal dust as Gwen and Becky moved to the front of the crowd before sighing and looking... at the girl's locker room.

"This is so how I wanted to spend fifth period," Diamondhead said.

As the crowd left, the sisters stayed behind and waited for the flash of green and pink light from the locker room. Once it came, the twins walked out angrily.

"Ben, Jen, wait up? What happened?" Becky asked, concerned.

"She found us. That's what happened," Ben said.

"Era told me that she wanted me alone," Jen said, balling her fists up. "That's what she's going to get."

"Guys, wait!" Gwen said as Jen stormed off with her brother and cousins following her concerned.

That night, with the faint light of a space ship appearing and landing close by in the park as the Omni-Team sat down on the picnic table as Allison rolled her eyes.

"Okay. On a scale of one to ten, ten being the stupidest thing that you guys have ever done, this is a fifteen," she said.

"No one's forcing you to stay, Ally," Jen said.

"If Era knows about you guys being watched by Plumbers, don't you think that they would know if we were setting a trap for her?" Gwen asked.

"It doesn't matter. This is our duty. My duty," Jen assured her cousin.

"When she shows up, we'll be ready," Ben said as everyone activated their suits and glared outwards. "And away from our town. Our mom and dad and Grandpa."

"We live here too," Huntress said, readying her spear.

"True," Omni-Pink said, clasping her hands open and closed. "It's up to us guys. We're not going to let him destroy our home. You ladies have to get that."

"Yeah, we get it. But we don't like it," Lucky Girl said.

"Neither are we," said a voice from behind as they looked to see Samus walking up with an extremely well-toned 18-year-old girl with a magic staff in her hand and wearing a deep bright pink outfit with high boots, long pink gloves and an amulet with a pink gemstone around her neck. She had curly brown hair that went down to her back and smiled.

"Samus," Lucky Girl said as the mother of their old ally nodded to her.

"There was a disturbance in the force and we tracked it down to be the Hands of Armageddon," the bounty hunter said.

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Princess Sofia of Enchancia," she said. "You've met my cousin, Scarlett on my dad's side."

"We've heard of you," said Matter Girl.

They all heard a beeping as they all ducked and prepared their powers/weapons as they glared outwards, Sofia wielding her Dream Rod staff in both hands and charging up a spell.

"What was that?" Omni-Green asked.

"Think it's Era?" Samus asked, rapping her fingers on her arm cannon.

"I can't tell," Omni-Pink said as she stood up and Lucky Girl's tattoos and eyes started glowing with power. "This is it."

"Jen, Ben," Max said as he came up and startled them with the Rust Bucket driving up.

"Grandpa," Omni-Green gasped.

"Max Tennyson, we finally meet," Samus said, shaking the Plumber's hand. "Samus Aran. You've met my daughter Maya."

"I've heard of you. You're arguably the most famous bounty hunter in the galaxy."

"And I'm Princess Sofia of Enchancia. I'm a Protector too," she said.

"How'd you know we'd be here?"

"It's the only place in Bellwood I hadn't checked."

"It was her idea," Lucky Girl said, pointing to Omni-Pink. "She's trying to set a trap for Era."

"So were we," Samus and Sofia said in unison.

"Traitors."

"Do you two have any idea how dangerous and foolish this is?"

"Grandpa, we can do this," Jen said, degenerating her helmet so she could look him in the eye. "Trust me, we're ready. And we have backup."

"Jen," Max said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Did you ever once stop to think that getting you alone is exactly what Era wants? Come on, let's go."

As the group was about to go off, the Rust Bucket suddenly went up in a raging ball of fire and smoke, flying away as the group stopped in their tracks.

"Okay, that was unexpected!" Omni-Green said.

"Look!" Huntress said as they looked into the trees and saw Era's goons suddenly dropped down on them and surrounded them.

"Oh crap!" Omni-Pink said as Era suddenly appeared in a purple light.

The team blasted away with their spells, powers or weapons as hard as they could as Omni-Green sliced one with his green energy blade and Omni-Pink gave an energy kick back, but they were quickly overwhelmed by the goons as Era advanced forwards.

"Leave them alone, Era!" Samus shouted as Era glared.

"Silence!" Era shouted as she tossed an energy field at Samus and surrounded her in a purple light and positioned her hands around, and the light dispersed and Samus fell to the ground, now looking shorter, less toned and her breasts had receded back into her chest as well.

"Ah!" Samus said as Sofia quickly summoned a mirror for her and she looked at the mirror and screamed. "She turned me into a ten year old!"

"Of course," Era said as she approached Omni-Pink and ran her hand across her cheek. "I truly don't want anyone to get killed."

"Don't you dare touch her!" Omni-Green shouted.

"I wouldn't dream of it. I'm not a monster, Benjamin," she said. "But I need her."

"What have we done?" Omni-Pink asked herself.

Back in the Hardware Store, the Plumbers shouted out and screamed in protest as they were locked in a closet.

The Omni-Twins came to from their unconscious state as Era laid down in front of them and saw they were chained from their arms to one of the Tesla coils right by the Hands of Armageddon. They looked to see Matter Girl, Lucky Girl, Huntress and Max chained to a separate coil from her and the 10-year-old Samus and Sofia chained to another coil with Samus' Morph Suit deactivated.

"Grandpa! Gwen! Becky! Ally!" Omni-Pink shouted.

"We're here, Jen. We're okay," Max said.

"I hope you don't mind that I brought them along to watch," Era said as she walked by.

"Where's our family and friends?" Omni-Green asked.

"You'll be relieved to hear I have no idea. They're fine. I've done nothing to them."

"Era, please," Max said. "Let the kids go. You can have the Omnitrixes."

Era shook her head before sending a small energy ball to Max's face, vibrating his skin.

"Ow," he said before feeling at his teeth with his tongue. "I think you knocked that loose crown back into place. Saved me a dentist bill."

"Stop it! Leave them alone!" Omni-Green said.

"Jennifer," Era said. "Tell me. Have you ever wondered why the Omnitrixes only allow you to change for ten minutes at a time?"

"Well, yes," Omni-Pink admitted. "But Ben and I unlocked the Master control function once, but we zeroed it out."

"It is a failsafe. So that the DNA of the alien life forms trapped within the Omnitrixes don't take you over when you turn into them. A failsafe that can be overwritten by someone who knows the Omnitrixes as intimately as I do."

Era stepped aside as Sofia looked on and glared before feeling at her hair with her free hand as Samus looked to her.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to pick the lock," Sofia said as she struggled to pull a pin out of her hair and struggled to pick at the lock.

"I suppose I owe you an explanation," Era said as she paced the floor. "I came here on a desperate mission to save my people."

"Yeah. Save them by taking over our world!" Omni-Pink said.

"We were a gilded race of warriors who mastered the elements," Era explained. "Gods who grew too strong and destroyed ourselves. My brother Eon sent me here to find Hands of Armageddon. With it, we could be reborn on Earth... but in order to do that, I needed to find the Master Spark."

"The Master Spark? What is that?"

Era glared hatefully at Max as she glared.

"You kept this secret even from your own blood?" she asked, venom clear in her voice. "You, Jennifer, are the reason that I came back two centuries ago. Then again countless times, my body growing weaker and weaker with each leap through time. I was looking for you. The Master Spark. The girl with the Omnitrix."

Omni-Pink looked to her grandfather and then to the Protectors in the room.

"You knew?"

"Yes," Samus confirmed.

"We hoped you'd never find out," Max said. "That this day would never come."

"Why me?" Omni-Pink asked.

"It is my DNA that will be released from the Omnitrix. I am the alien life form that will soon overwhelm you so I can save my people. You are me, Jennifer."

"No," Omni-Pink said in horror as she started to sweat. "That can't be true!"

"My time... is almost over," Era said in pain. "But I will be reborn anew in you. And our great strength will power of the Hands of Armageddon and open a time rift to my dying world."

"And what will you do when your people are saved?"

"Continue our work across the cosmos."

"Which will only end up with you destroying yourselves again," Samus said.

"We learn from our mistakes. You will no longer be a simple helpless child, but a god. Not for mere moments, but for eternity!"

"Don't touch her, you freak!" Omni-Green shouted.

"Jen, don't worry. We're going to get you free," Lucky Girl said.

Era then saw Jen's Omnitrix symbol pop up and glow purple and she dialed the space to reveal a silhouette similar to her's.

"Please," Omni-Pink begged. "Don't do this."

Era smiled and pressed the core down, sending out a purple flash of light outwards.

"No!" Matter Girl shouted.

A surge of light flashed outwards as Jen changed into a Chronian form. She looked similar to Era, only she had no helmet and her hair was black and in pigtails and she wore of Era's suit, only smaller and it fit her figure.

She then pulled the chains down from her perch and broke them, her cape flowing in a nonexistent breeze.

"It's no use," Samus said. "She's been possessed by Era's power. She's overwhelmed her."

"Thank you, Jennifer. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten. Two of us cannot exist in one world..." the original Era said as she vanished a puff of smoke.

"Jen, are you in there?" Huntress asked. "Jen?"

"I am sorry to disappoint you," the new Era said. "Such power... held slave by a mere child. But no longer. I am free!"

"Oh man," Omni-Green said. "It's Ghostfreak all over again."

Era looked over and saw the Hands of Armageddon, walking over to activate it.

"At last. It is time for my people to awaken in their new world!"

She charged her hands with energy, creating a ball, before she put it into the center of the Hands, charging it with energy and activating it. She then put her hands to the core and started to control it, her face contorting with pleasure.

"We have to stop this," Samus said to Sofia, still working on picking the lock.

Outside, a fleet of Chronian ships appeared in the sky, the people looking around taking notice of the ships that approached from the space around the Earth.

Meanwhile, at the middle school, the parents and families were all filing into the auditorium to watch the talent show that was starting.

Carl and Sandra, who was carrying Emma in a basket, apologized as they moved into the seats with excitement to see their kids perform.

"Sorry, I'm sorry."

"Excuse me. We're here for our kids. And yours too, I guess," Carl said.

"Carl, I didn't see the kids before we left."

"No, I didn't either. I guess they're just working out some last bit of preparations, okay? And remember not to show them too much affection in front of their friends and that we respect them as peers rather than parents, okay?"

In the back, Jen's band, which included her childhood friends, was waiting for her as Casey stood by her piano and Simone strummed her guitar to herself as they looked at each other.

"Where's Jen?" Casey asked. "She should be here by now."

"She is one of the leaders of a team of hero stuff, Casey," Simone said to her. "Superheroes are always busy. Maybe there's an alien attack happening right now?"

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sure that she's doing whatever she can to stop whatever it is that's keeping her busy."

"I can't believe that this is the thing that's keeping her busy!" Matter Girl shouted as she tried to absorb the metal from her chains, only to get shocked by the coil once she tried. "Man, Era's clever."

"Hey, Gwen," Max whispered to Lucky Girl who struggled in the chains. "If you step up on that block behind you, do you think you can kick my back pocket and knock out my wrench?"

"I have no idea," Lucky Girl said, wincing. "Maybe."

"You have to try or we're all doomed!" Huntress whispered.

Omni-Green looked in horror at what his sister was doing as she tampered with the Hands and Sofia picked at the lock with her hair pin.

"Please don't drop it," Samus begged.

Lucky Girl stepped up onto the block behind her and kicked at Max's back pocket and the wrench started to come out of it, peeking out.

"Good," Max said. "Now see if you can kick off the top of the wrench."

Lucky Girl nodded and kicked the head down and the laser came out of the handle, blasting through his chains. He then used the wrench to burn through the girls' chains as Sofia broke the lock and undid the chains and then fired a magic blast out that destroyed Samus' chains as she reactivated her Morph Suit around her much smaller body and Omni-Green activated his green energy swords to break through his chains.

"Okay," Samus said as she bore her cannon. "Sofia and I are going to ward off Era's goons."

She and Sofia then ran off to attack the minions as the rest of the Omni-Team looked nervously at each other at one of their own turning against them, and one of their leaders no less.

"You kids need to go and hide," Max said to them. "I need to shut down the Hands of Armageddon before the time rift becomes unstoppable."

"But what about Jen?" Omni-Green asked, extremely worried.

"Don't worry. We'll get her back," Max said as he kissed each of his grandkids foreheads and they ran off, preparing their weapons/powers.

"It's alright," Matter Girl told her friends. "If Era's an Omnitrix transformation, that means she's still in there somewhere."

Max snuck up on Era and picked up an electrical cable connected to the Tesla coils.

"Sorry, Jen. Please don't tell your parents."

He then blasted her in the chest with the cable, sending her flying backwards and landing in a heap and he picked up a second cable and looked at the Hands, confused.

Meanwhile, back at the locked storage closet, the Plumbers stopped protesting and sat down moping. That was when Ed came by and smiled at them through the glass window.

"Miss me?" he asked.

"Oh yes!" Fire Chief Whittington said as they all started clamoring over each other and Ed held up his large key ring.

"Please! Open the door!" Doris shouted as Ed smiled.

"You guys would be lost without me."

He then fumbled with the keys one by one as the Plumbers all groaned.

"Over there!" Doris shouted as they all pointed to the wall... right where the emergency door release button rested.

"Oh," he deadpanned as he pressed the button, opening the door and letting the Plumbers out.

"Dear Lord, Ed. Could you have waited any longer to get here?"

"I'm sorry, Doris! I woke up in the school infirmary. The nurse wouldn't let me out of there. But at least I got these."

He turned to show the weapons he had collected from the area and they all smiled at him.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Mr. Hawkins said as everyone took their weapons and charged them up.

"Let's get Plumbin," Doris said.

Max held the two static cables up and looked unsure. "Okay. One's negative, one's positive. But which one? Darn it, Max, don't blow up your own home town!"

He then thrust both of the cables into the core of the Hands, sending out purple lightning everywhere as he glared out at the static that was being discharged from the core.

"Grandpa!" Lucky Girl and Huntress said as Omni-Green turned to Era as she stood up to see what was happening.

"Jen! Jennifer Heather Tennyson, you idiot, wake up! Grandpa's in trouble!" Omni-Green said as Era struggled to stand.

He then groaned and generated a large gauntlet before hitting her in the back.

"Guess that got your attention, huh?!" he asked.

Era glared at him as he stood up.

"I'm not afraid of you, you hear me? I'm not afraid because deep down, I know that you're still my sister! My twin!"

Era glared at him as she tossed an energy ball his way, that he blocked by generating a shield that she used to knock it back.

"The same sister who shared the womb with me! Who cried when I broke her favorite toy when we were five! Who loves to sing and is the nicest person I know! And who always stands up for me when Gwen makes fun of me! I love you, Jen Tennyson, because you're a hero! I'm proud to call you my partner and my sister! You've never given up on anything or anyone in your life! Don't stop now!" he said, tears practically streaming from his eyes under his visor.

Era stopped him as she glared.

"Lovely speech, Benjamin. Too bad it will be your last. This is the end for you."

"No," Ed said as he and the Plumbers glared out to him. "But it's a permanent detention for you, Jen."

"One against many?" Era asked. "It hardly seems fair."

That was when she summoned her minions that flipped into the room as they battled Samus and Sofia as the Plumbers joined in the battle against them as Era glared out.

"I know you're in there, Jen!" Omni-Green said. "I need you! Gwen and Becky need you! Ally needs you! Grandpa Max needs you! The world needs you!"

Era shouted out in pain as she held her hands to her head as Omni-Green smiled.

"Yes! Fight it, Jen!" Lucky Girl said.

"You can do it!" Matter Girl said.

Era then generated her energy balls as Omni-Green braced himself... only to see her toss the energy balls out to her minions, vaporizing them. She then zapped Samus with an energy ball and manipulated time to turn her back to her proper age.

"Is it really you?" Omni-Green asked as Era chuckled at him.

"For the record, I didn't cry when you broke my dolly. I had something in my eye."

"Fine," Omni-Green said as the two hugged. "I'm just glad you're you again."

"Step back," Era said as she showed off her side, which had the Omnitrix symbol on it, which she pressed and transformed herself back to Omni-Pink.

"Jen!" Huntress said as the kids all gathered around and hugged her, like a true family would do.

"So good to have you back, girl," Matter Girl said.

"Ally," Jen said, noticing her friend's face. "Are those real tears I see in your eyes?"

Matter Girl jumped back and felt at her face before she felt at her eye to notice a strange liquid leaking.

"O.M.G. Please don't tell anyone I cried? I have a reputation to keep."

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with us," Lucky Girl said.

"Did Grandpa take care of the Hands?" Omni-Pink asked.

"Uh, Jen. Grandpa..." Omni-Green said as Jen noticed their grandfather still overloading the Hands of Armageddon.

"Oh no! Grandpa!"

"I'm sorry, Jen. It was the only way. You're free now. Era's gone for good. Just know that everything I did was to protect you kids."

"No! Grandpa, please don't leave us! We can't lose you now!"

"You won't, Ben. Of all the things I'm most proud of in my life, it was you, my grandkids. I'll always be with you two. Now get out of here!"

"No!" Omni-Pink shouted as she and her brother grabbed him. "Not without you!"

"We know who we are now, Grandpa! And we know it because of you!"

"But we're not finished learning yet!"

"I said get out of here!"

"Help! We need help!"

Lucky Girl used her telekinesis as Sofia and Samus ran up and pried him away from the Hands, taking the cables out.

Everyone looked at the Hands as they shut down slowly, becoming pitch black.

Up in the skies above Bellwood, the Chronian ships all vanished back to wherever they came from and from orbit too.

"Well, that wasn't too smart, kids," Max said as everyone walked away. "I didn't teach you that."

"We know," Jen smiled.

"That's why we never listen to you," Max said.

"Oh man!" Lucky Girl said. "We completely forgot about the talent show! Ben and I are supposed to go on in less than ten minutes!"

"Grandpa," Ben said as the team deactivated their suits. "Mom and Dad- I mean Sandra and Carl are going to freak if we don't show up!"

"No problem," Ed said. "We could take my car. Don't worry, I'll drop you around back. Nobody will see you with the Principal. Okay, where's my car keys?"

"So," Allison said to Doris as she smiled. "Am I fired for this?"

"On the contrary, Ally. You're promoted to sous chef."

"Really?" Allison asked, stars in her eyes. "Thanks, boss!"

"You know," Jen said, walking off. "Even though I never want to go Era again, do you think I could access those cool powers of her's? Minus the body-snatching part?"

Suddenly, Jen saw everyone slow down around her and her eyes dilated to pinpoints in fear.

"Uh-oh."

Era then appeared in a puff of smoke and glared at her.

"The answer to your question, Jennifer, is no! Those powers still belong to me!"

"The Hands are gone, Era!" Jen said as Era grabbed her. "Your world is gone!"

"You could've been a god!" Era shouted as she tossed Jen away and she immediately suited up as Ben turned into Wildmutt and growled and snarled, tackling him with a roar.

Jen groaned as she struggled to stand up and felt her chest start to hurt from her heart hitting the back of it. Her pupils started to shift from black to pink and she groaned as she stood up.

"So," Era said to Wildmutt. "We'll play sitting ducks until your time runs out, Benjamin."

She then started firing energy ball after energy ball at Wildmutt who dodged them as he growled out and bounded after him.

Jen groaned as her eyes glowed pink and she saw her brother in trouble and everyone frozen around her.

"Let it out." A voice said in the back of her brain. "Just let the energy take control of you. You've got everything to lose."

She stood on her feet and shouted out in fury as something amazing happened. She changed into a whole new form without even touching the Omnitrix. Her skin turned a dark pink and her clothes darkened and shifted to a form befitting a sleuth skintihgt pink outfit and a masquerade-like mask formed over her glowing pink eyes. Her boots morphed into high boots with a heel at the end and she grew short gloves that reached her wrists. Her hair turned a glowing pink and grew out into several long tendrils, fishe flew upwards and slammed directly into Era, blasting energy blast after energy blast at the Chronian, blasting her back.

"You aren't me!" she shouted. "You were never me!"

She then gathered up all of the guns in the room with her telekinesis and demanded them to fire on her, blasting her back and hitting her with a relentless assault. She then glared and grabbed Era by the throat with her intense strength as she flew up and glared.

"No!" Era shouted. "It's not my time!"

"Your time is up, Era," Jen said to her as she gave a shout and reeled an energy fist back that blasted her into the Hands of Armageddon, blowing it away in pieces as the energy blasted inwards and caused a blackout among the entire town for a few seconds, causing a kid at the talent show balancing a spinning plate to drop it.

Max flipped the circuit breaker back on and turned the power back on.

"I hope no one noticed that," he said as the group all saw Jen as she powered down and morphed back into her normal self as Wildmutt growled confusingly.

"What was that? A new alien form?" Allison asked.

"I doubt it. I transformed into her myself without even touching the Omnitrix," Jen said. "I think it may have something to do with my powers."

"Hmm," Gwen said as she generated her own pink energy, confused.

Samus and Sofia smiled and Sofia created a portal back to the Mystic Isles.

"Our work here is done for now," Samus said.

"We'll see you and the Protectors again," Allison said.

"Sooner than you think," Sofia said, giving a wink before they disappeared.

Back at school, the cheerleading squad known as the Bellwood Sassies were performing their routine and smiling to the crowd.

Sandra started to freak out and fan herself as Emma looked up confused.

"Bwutha? Sista?" she babbled.

"They're not here yet, sweetie," she said, nervously as Carl approached and sat down. "Did you find them?"

"No. Breathe, honey. I'm sure that the kids are fine. They're just somewhere getting centered for the show."

The routine finished up as the teacher took the stage again.

"Weren't they great?" she asked to the cherering crowd. "Let's have another big round of applause for the Bellwood Sassies!"

Backstage, Jen showed up behind Casey and Simone along with the rest of her band as they glared.

"Jen, where were you?" Casey asked, demandingly.

"Sorry. I just had some problems with... time," she said.

"For the next act before the last one of the night, we have... magicians! Oh, I love magic. Isn't it exciting? So, let's put our hands together for The Great Gwendini and her assistant!"

The crowd applauded as... no one showed up at first.

"Come on, kids!" an audience member shouted.

"Okay," the teacher said to the stagehand. "Where are they?!"

"I don't know! Don't yell at me, it's not my fault!"

"Well it's your job! Find them!"

"No. It's not! I show up, read my line and if they show up, they show up! Do not send me into a shame spiral!"

"They'll be hear in a second, don't worry."

She then heard a rumbling noise bounding through the area.

"What's that noise?"

That was when Wildmutt showed up, growling wildly as the crowd all gasped outwards in fear as Gwen showed up, wearing a sparkly gold jacket.

"Boy, I wish we practiced more. Uh, hey. How's everybody doing tonight?" she asked nervously. "I'm The Great Gwendini and this is my assistant, Wildmutt. He's not a monster, he's an alien. Common mistake."

She looked to Ally, Jen and her sister, the latter giving her a nervous thumbs-up.

"Anyway's, we're... what are we going to do?" she asked before noticing the countdown start to tick down on the Omnitrix and she smiled. "Ladies and gentlemen, the incredible transformation trick! Abra cadabra!"

She then took the curtain off of the rack and brought it down over Wildmutt and the form shrunk down as he transformed back underneath him.

Ben then ducked underneath the curtain and the crowd erupted into applause at the seemingly amazing trick as Carl and Sandra whistled. Ben and Gwen then took hands and took a stage bow before walking off as Jen vibrated her lips and the stagehands moved the instruments onto the stage as Casey and Simone walked up with the other guitarist and violinist as they prepared themselves.

"And now, for our final act of the night. Last year's winner back to defend her title, please give it up for Jen Tennyson!"

The crowd applauded as Jen walked up onto the stage, fixing her clothes and bowed her head nervously as her family smiled at her, especially her parents.

Jen looked around to the audience and she cleared her throat and vibrated her lips nervously as she looked back to her band, specifically Casey, who sat down at the piano and she nodded to her.

Casey then nodded back and started playing the piano softly as the others stood to attention as Jen closed her eyes and started singing.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...

Mmm-hmm."

The remainder of the band all took the cues and Simone and the other guitarist jammed out on their guitars as the drummer played hard as Jen's confidence built up.

"Heeeeeey!"

The music slowed down as Jen sang softly, growing louder as she became more and more confident.

So,

So you made a lot of mistakes

Walked down the road a little sideways

Cracked a brick when you hit the wall

Yeah

You've had a pocket full of regrets

Pulled you down faster than a sunset

It happens to us all

When the cold hard rain just won't quit and

You can't see your way out of it

You find your faith has been lost and shaken

You take back what's been taken

Get on your knees and dig down deep

You can do what you think is impossible!

Keep on believing don't give in

It'll come and make you whole again

It always will, it always does

Love is unstoppable!

Love,

It can weather any storm

Bringyou back to being born

Again

Oh,

It's a helping hand when you need it most

A lighthouse shining on the coast

That never goes dim

When your heart is full of doubt and you

Think that there's no way out!

You find your faith has been lost and shaken

You take back what's been taken

Get on your knees and dig down deep

You can do what you think is impossible!

Keep on believing, don't give in

It'll come and make you whole again

It always will, it always does

Love is unstoppable!

Like a river keeps on moving,

Like a north wind blowing

Don't it feel good, don't it?

Yeah!

You find your faith has been lost and shaken,

You take back what's been taken

Get on your knees and dig down deep

You can do what you think is impossible!

Keep on believing, don't give in

It'll come and make you whole again

It always will, it always does!

Love is unstoppable!

So you made a lot of mistakes

Walked down the road a little sideways,

But love,

Love is unstoppable!"

The music stopped and the crowd erupted into applause, giving her a standing ovation as her parents whistled at the act as the band left as Simone and Casey hugged their friend before walking off.

"So," Cash said in the crowd as he and J.T. smiled. "I guess they know what they're doing after all."

"I knew you shouldn't have made fun of them," J.T. chuckled. "Better hope they don't tell Wildmutt that you called him Ben's girlfriend or you're toast."

"Can it, J.T.! The twins are cool. They'd never do something like that. I'm so out of here!" Cash said, running away.

"Wait for me, dude!"

"What a finish! Well, it looks like the judge's decision is unanimous!" the teacher said, walking onto the stage. "It comes as no surprise that First Place... for the second year in a row, Jen Tennyson!"

Jen gasped and hit her knees as the crowd applauded and the teacher walked up to her and handed her a large trophy as she smiled and waved at the crowd.

"And in second place is the Great Gwendini and her assistant!"

Ben and Gwen stepped out and were handed a smaller silver trophy.

"Jen deserves it. Every inch of it," Ben said as he walked up to his sister and hugged her tightly and she hugged him back.

"Wow! Jen, you did amazing!" Sandra said as she handed Emma to her husband and hugged Ben and Jen as she smiled. "And you, Ben? Turning back into you from that giant dog? Incredible!"

"Hey, the Omni-Twins obviously used their powers to switch Wlidmutt with them."

"Dad-I mean, Carl," Jen said to her father. "You know about the Omni-Twins?"

"Of course. It's all over the news nowadays."

"Tonight is a cause for celebration on me!" Max said as the family all cheered out and smiled and the kids walked off. "You two had better wait up. We've got some pizza to pick up for the party. It's not every day you go to a talent show and win."

"And save the world," Ben smiled.

"Watch how much cheese you eat, kids!" Sandra called after her twin kids. "You know lactose makes you gassy!"

"Hey, let the kids breathe a little bit. Have as much cheese as you want!"

"So what do you kids feel like?" Max asked as they walked to the pizza parlor. "Some sweet cricket crackers or some spicy bug larvae?"

"Ew! Grandpa, stop!" Becky said.

"You said we were having pizza," Allison said.

"Kidding. Just kidding. I'll only put the larvae on mine."

"Stop!" Gwen said, laughing.

They looked to see the Plumbers in hiding nodding to them in appreciation for what they did.

"Guess Bellwood's finally getting back to normal," Jen said.

"That it is," Max confirmed. "And it's probably time for you to put the Omnitrixes away for awhile, Ben and Jen."

"Yeah, you're right," Ben said. "I guess we could live with just being Ben and Jen for awhile."

"I'm gonna miss it, though," Jen said. "Not having any aliens or magic around."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, kids. Aliens are a tenacious breed. You'll be heroes again."

"We know. The Omni-Team's taking a break for awhile though," Jen said as they walked off.

In the Protectors' Headquarters located in the Mystic Isles, Scarlett walked in front of the Council of Protectors, which included Princess Celestia, Queen Hippolyta, Pink Diamond, Queen Angella of Bright Moon, Billy Batson, Arthur Curry and Stephen Strange as she bowed on one knee before them.

"Samus and Sofia have reported back their mission to us," Pink Diamond said.

"Any doubts we have had about it have now been evaporated," Scarlett said. "Jen Tennyson is the Master Spark. She is the one."

"Adaline's prophecy will be fulfilled. We already know who her reincarnation is. It is only a matter of time," Celestia said as they all looked to the stained glass window which included Billy, Arthur and Stephen's predecessors, the wizard Shazam, King Atlan and The Ancinet One in the window as they looked to the purple figure with flaming wings at the top of it.

That's all, folks. See you next week in the beginning of...

Ben and Jen 10: Alien Force

Chapter 52: Chapter 51: Race Against Time

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Chapter 52: Chapter 51: Race Against Time

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