Ben 10 — An Omniverse of Choices and Consequences

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The next day (Several hours later)

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The Rust Bucket, its engine purring with renewed vigor after the recent repairs, rolled to a stop at the foot of Mount Rushmore. The iconic presidential faces loomed above, their stony gazes keeping watch over the landscape.

Inside the RV, Ben and Gwen slowly stood up from their seats, stretching their limbs after the brisk journey. They peered out the windows, taking in the familiar sight of the national monument.

Somewhere within the vehicle's nooks and crannies, the Galvan duo of Blukic and Driba could be heard bickering, their voices a constant backdrop.

Max, seated at the wheel, smiled at his grandchildren's curiosity. The monument held a secret few were privy to.

Ben turned to his grandfather, "I've seen this in the show, but… how'd you guys pull off building a secret base inside a national monument?"

"To be honest, Ben, it all started with a drunken bet. But then, years later, one of our Earth members turned rogue and got every base on the planet raided — except this one. Since it was our last hideout standing, we just kept expanding it deeper and deeper. Before we knew it, we had ourselves a proper base right under old Abe's nose. Funny how things turn out, eh?"

Ben and Gwen exchanged incredulous glances, their eyes wide with disbelief.

"Uh… Did the government actually authorize this?" Ben raised his eyebrows.

Max snorted. "We didn't even inform them. That's the whole point of a secret base."

The cousins' mouths hung open in shock. While they couldn't really bring themselves to care about long-dead historical figures, they were acutely aware of how many people viewed national monuments as sacred ground.

"Grandpa, that's…" Gwen's words failed her.

"Anyway, it's hidden in plain sight where no one would ever think to look, so in the end, it wasn't a bad idea." Max reached for a panel near the steering wheel, filled with an array of seemingly normal radio buttons. With practiced ease, Max pressed a specific sequence, then left his thumb pressed against a volume button for five seconds.

Suddenly, the floor beneath them began to descend.

The unexpected motion caught them off guard. Ben tumbled to the floor with a yelp, while Gwen barely managed to grab onto a nearby seat, narrowly avoiding the same fate.

"A little warning next time, Grandpa." Gwen's fingers tightened with annoyance on the seat she grabbed.

"Are we going down, or is the world going up and we think we're going down?" Blukic's voice piped up unexpectedly from somewhere in the RV. "So what happens if I walk with my hands?"

From his new position on the floor, Ben noticed the Galvan underneath the table, attempting to walk on his hands before promptly falling over.

Ben shook his head, fighting back a smile. "Blukic, what are you doing?"

"Experimenting!" Blukic replied cheerfully, picking himself up. "If the world is going up, then walking on my hands should be easier, right?"

"Aren't you and Driba supposed to be geniuses?" The question wasn't sarcastic — after all, they fixed the Rust Bucket in fifteen (somehow long) minutes instead of the promised hour.

Ben's question clearly struck a chord with Blukic. The Galvan's carefree, goofy demeanor faltered for a moment, and he let out a small sigh before answering.

"You know… after centuries of filling my brain with knowledge, I know almost all the right answers, or at least how to find them practically. But it's… boring. Incredibly boring." Blukic's voice carried a hint of irritation. "So I let my creative side take control — the knowledge is still there, but the journey becomes interesting. Since Galvans don't approve of that, they marked me as defective and accidentally left both Driba and me behind years ago on this planet… they didn't even bother to take us back five years ago…"

Ben blinked, taken aback by this unexpected revelation, especially since their Prime counterparts were mostly comic relief with no backstory beyond being screw-ups while somehow remaining geniuses. "What about Driba?"

"No, he's just defective by Galvan standards, but I don't care, he is my friend." Blukic lowered his voice.

"Well, I don't have the context, but anyway, welcome to Earth (a little late)." Ben smiled as he extended his left fist.

The Galvan's eyes lingered on the Omnitrix adorning Ben's wrist. 'I wonder why Max asked us not to mention anything to his grandchildren.'

Hesitantly, Blukic made a fist with one of his small hands and bumped it against Ben's fist. "Thanks."

The entire Rust Bucket descended via a concealed elevator. The floor above immediately sealed their entrance. As they descended, the darkness gave way to a soft blue glow emanating from the walls.

"Welcome to the old main Plumber base of Earth." Max announced as the lift halted in a vast, empty parking area with only a single parked car around. Corridors stretched endlessly in all directions.

Max chose a path, and everyone followed.

As they ventured deeper, the cousins' excitement faded. Most cutting-edge gadgets were locked away, and the force fields securing other devices had lost their novelty, appearing more like photo filters than anything fascinating.

Around a corner, they met Phil, Max's former colleague. The man in his sixties leaned against the wall in a full grey plumber's uniform, leaving only his head exposed. He had his arms crossed and one boot sole pressed against the wall in what Ben perceived as an attempt to look cool. Though his hair had greyed like Max's, it retained a darker shade.

"Hey, Buddy! How have you been after all this time?!" Phil greeted warmly.

"Great, it's still good to know that all these years we spent meant something." They shook hands. 'Till now…' Max thought.

Phil tilted his head, noticing the teenagers. "Who are they? The kid slightly resembles you… your grandchildren? What…"

Questions flooded his mind. Why would the paranoid Max suddenly reveal his secret past to his grandchildren when his own children — now in their forties — still fucking believed he wasn't present because he needed to fix overseas luxury toilets?! And why bring them to this old base? Even disbanded, this wasn't exactly a tourist attraction!

"I'll explain later." Max waved his hand dismissively. "But since you mentioned tourism, you can give them a tour… Unless you'd rather explain why you're here in that uniform?"

"Er… no." Phil scratched his head. "You're supposed to be the wise one between us…"

'...I never even mentioned tourism!' He sighed, then turned to the teenagers with a smile. "Anyway, want to see some cool things?"

Ben tensed instinctively, memories of the Prime universe's villainous Phil flashing through his mind. He pulled out his phone, checking recent news for strange creatures appearing from nowhere with a hero swooping in to save the day.

Finding nothing suspicious, he relaxed slightly.

'This isn't the Prime universe.' Ben reminded himself. 'No reason to be hostile unless he goes for that device…*'

In his cautious observation of Phil, Ben failed to notice Gwen mirroring his actions, her own suspicions carefully hidden.

What he and Gwen forgot to think about was… that instead of glory, Phil only liked the adrenaline and money… so would he be stupid enough not to cover up the news while targeting places where the owners themselves would rather hide that a fucking monster was present? Like for example, restaurants and hotels?

As for whether he used that device… maybe? Nothing was certain between universes.

Phil observed them. 'Strange… I thought Max barely raised his children, let alone his grandchildren. Why are they so suspicious of me, a total stranger? Yet here they are, acting just as paranoid as their grandfather.'

"Yeah, why not?" Ben pocketed his phone.

"Hm?"

"The tour you mentioned." Ben chuckled.

"Oh, right." Phil rolled his eyes.

Max continued with the Galvans while Gwen and Ben followed Phil.

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Days passed. Leaving another room of locked items and archives, Ben found himself in yet another corridor. 'Why are we even here?' He yawned. 'At least my training with my transformations is going well… Break's over. Back to the training room… Maybe Phil can help again…'

A sharp pain exploded in the back of his neck. His vision blurred as his body grew heavier. Before darkness took him, he caught a glimpse of his attacker's face, its expression unreadable.