Ben 10 — An Omniverse of Choices and Consequences

Gwen's footsteps echoed through the empty corridors of the Plumber base, eyelids heavy with boredom. Rounding a corner toward the Rust Bucket, she froze.

"What are you doing, Grandpa Max?!"

Max stood there, Ben's unconscious form draped over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. His grim expression replaced his usual demeanor.

"The whole thing about the Omniversal war and the Omnitrix is madness." His voice dropped low. "Did you actually think I was going to let him… no, both of you be involved in that?"

Gwen's mind raced, trying to process the situation. "What do you mean?"

Max's eyes narrowed as he studied his granddaughter. "I've seen you use your energy, Gwen. It reminds me of Verdona, your grandmother. You're also a participant, aren't you? You wouldn't have awakened her bloodline now if that wasn't the case."

Gwen remained silent, her lack of denial as good as an admission. A moment passed. "What are you going to do?"

Max began walking forward with Gwen following close behind. Despite the situation, she wasn't overly worried about Ben, trusting that their grandfather wouldn't truly harm him.

"The universe is vast, Gwen." Max began, his voice taking on a lecturing tone. "It's filled with countless species… aliens, if you prefer. Even humans are aliens in the grand scheme of things." He paused, letting his words sink in. "Most aliens out there share similarities with humans, including a lack of what we'd call superpowers. You follow?"

"I… think so." Gwen replied hesitantly.

"Then tell me." Max continued, his voice growing more intense, "Why does each and every one of Ben's alien forms have superpowers?"

The question caught Gwen off guard. She stumbled slightly, mind racing for an answer. She knew Ben hadn't figured out his tenth alien's abilities yet, but let's be honest… it would have powers, just like the rest. "Because of the Omniversal war, right? Ben said the AI reset his aliens so he doesn't copy his Prime counterpart actions…"

As the words left her mouth, Gwen's eyes widened with realization. The 10 original aliens of Ben Prime all had superpowers too.

Max nodded grimly. "Whether it's Azmuth and whoever is organizing this Omniversal war, they've prepared a weapon to be used. I won't let that weapon stay near Ben. It's a death trap, especially with the other participants involved."

"I'll ask one more time, Grandpa. What exactly are you planning to do?" Gwen's brow furrowed, her mind racing to decipher her grandfather's intentions.

"I'm going to participate in this war myself and put an end to this madness. By becoming the Omnitrix wielder."

Gwen's hand started to rise in objection, but she paused. Her fingers moved to her chin as she reconsidered. On second thought, it wasn't such a bad idea.

Ben had become incredibly proficient with the Omnitrix in less than a week. He even surpassed his prime counterpart… though that wasn't a difficult feat by itself. Yet, her grandfather's decades of experience dealing with aliens could be a game-changer. Max as the Omnitrix wielder could potentially outperform Ben. The more Gwen considered it, the more sense it made.

A small part of her acknowledged that Ben would be devastated to lose the Omnitrix. But as long as he wasn't physically harmed, she found it hard to care deeply. They were essentially strangers who happened to share blood. Not friends.

"And Gwen, stop your magic practice. You can opt out of this entirely. Freedom? Control? Both options are too vague to die for, based on what Ben told me. I won't let either of you die for this! …Unless Ben misunderstood the AI's explanation?"

"No. We know if freedom wins, it's total freedom. But the Control explanation I got was less biased and… more complete."

Max's steps slowed. "Complete how?"

"If Control wins, surviving Control participants in their own Multiverse will experience two main effects. First, their luck will be maximized. Second, their will shall gradually reshape reality.

However, there's a catch. Conflicting wills cannot coexist. The assistant implied that to avoid contradictions in how reality is reshaped, I should remove other Control participants whose goals oppose mine after Control's victory.

In essence, if I choose Control and we win, I was indirectly advised to kill off rival Control participants whose interests clash with my own. This ensures there won't be any contradictions in how reality is altered."

"This is utter madness…" Max's eyes widened. "So, you chose Control?"

"No. I've chosen neither for now." Gwen kept her voice flat. "But the prospect of nothing bad happening to us… isn't terrible."

"That would require you to kill." Max strode forward, adjusting Ben's weight. "I won't let you participate in this madness."

Back when the Plumbers were active, he'd killed countless times, even telling his juniors it wasn't a big deal their first time… even his seniors, killers themselves, called him trigger happy… but would he actually be happy if his grandchildren became murderers?!

His mind raced, wondering why the explanations given to Ben and Gwen differed.

Gwen followed, ignoring her grandfather's words. Her mind raced with questions, but one in particular stood out.

"Now that I don't have to pretend anymore, I wonder about something." She mused aloud.

Max turned slightly. "What's that?"

"You didn't watch the saga, so you wouldn't know, but it showed the Omnitrix was originally meant for Max Prime. Ben Prime could use it due to his related DNA." Gwen explained. "Our universe differs from Prime, but I wondered… if that applies here, why would Azmuth give you a weapon, as you claim?"

Max froze mid-step. Gwen couldn't see his face, but she felt an overwhelming sense of dread emanating from him. He hurried forward.

"Oh… I-I see. It's… strange indeed." His voice was uncharacteristically shaky.

"Grandpa? Do you know Azmuth?" Gwen pressed. The saga had never been consistent about whether Max and Azmuth knew each other beforehand. Additionally, this wasn't their universe, so she hadn't expected a reaction.

Max remained silent. He entered a room with two seats and various machines. Blukic and Driba waited inside. Gwen followed.

The room was larger than most, with stark white walls and bright fluorescent lighting giving it a clinical feel. In the center stood two high-tech chairs, each equipped with specialized machinery — one with an arm-covering device, the other with a head-fitting contraption. Monitors, control panels, and blinking lights adorned the walls, completing the futuristic atmosphere.

"Come in. I'll explain everything." Max stood near the entrance after placing Ben on a chair with the machine meant to cover his arm. He gestured for Gwen to enter.

"This room looks more impressive than the others." Gwen surveyed the area as she stepped inside. "This is where Ben 10 becomes Ben 0." She attempted to lighten the mood, yet the Galvans in front of her and Max behind her were clearly not amused.

Her gaze fell on the second chair, which had the head-fitting machine. "But why two seats—"

A sudden pain shot through her neck before she could finish speaking. Her vision began to blur.

Max exhaled heavily. "Both of you need to improve your vigilance… Gwen, did you really think I only planned to remove Ben's Omnitrix?"

As Max's words echoed in her ears, Gwen's world tilted and faded to black. She collapsed, unconscious, but Max caught her before she hit the ground.

He lifted her, then placed her on the second seat.

'I didn't think this summer vacation with my grandchildren would be perfect, but I had hoped it would go well… I… never expected this!' His heart began to beat uncontrollably, sending sharp pains through his chest. He clutched his red shirt, a contorted expression on his face.

'Everything I've done… it was all for my family — my deceased parents, my sister, my brother, my sons, my nephews and now my grandchildren and my grandnephews… I had to keep them safe. All these years as a Plumber, even with that bitter end, I don't regret them. Earth is now a universal off-limit zone — so what if the planet doesn't evolve? Screw it!'

"Max!" Driba, Blukic, and Phil, who had been hidden in the corridor, rushed to his side. Max raised a hand to stop them. After several deep breaths, the pain gradually subsided.

"It's alright." He reassured them, slowly lowering his arm, his eyes focused. 'And Vilgax, somehow still alive, needs to die again. He can freely ignore Galvan law's consequences. To spite me especially and the other remaining human plumbers, he will destroy Earth — during or after this so-called Omniversal war.'

Max almost laughed at his own thought of destroy. He knew better — complete destruction would be merciful compared to Vilgax's usual atrocities. Conquering, enslaving, forced cannibalism, genocide — these words were strong, but the reality behind them would make any space warlord (except Vilgax himself) fear he might appear under their bed at night.

It wasn't for nothing that Vilgax's main spaceship, the Chimeran Hammer, operated entirely with android crews — Vilgax and Psyphon were the only living beings aboard!

'And I need the greatest weapon ever created… You planned this, didn't you? Azmuth?!'

Whatever schemes Azmuth had crafted for him, Max would tear them apart. The same went for this "Omniversal war" and its so-called higher beings — none of them would use his grandchildren as pawns.

His determined expression caught Phil's attention. After assuring himself that Max was doing well, Phil quietly left the room, Max's earlier words echoing in his mind. 'This family is really strange. I get the gist, but still… Anyway, if there's a war coming, then I'm your man, Max! I have no fucking intention of dying and decaying like an old man!'

Fired up, he took the opportunity to enter the room containing all the base's most dangerous but easily containable items. He was definitely going to take that device, the Null Void Projector — a device opening a portal toward the Dimension: Null, more commonly called the Null Void.

For Phil, it was an insta-win button. Too annoying adversary? A shot with the projector and gone! Money problems or just bored? He'd use it to release aliens just to recapture them.

As Phil walked toward the room containing the projector, Max stood in another chamber looking at his unconscious grandchildren. One had a device on her head, the other had a device covering the arm holding the Omnitrix.

After a long pause, Max turned to Blukic and Driba. "Start with Ben."

With both Gwen and Ben unconscious, neither could inform Max about nor take note of the Omniversal war update.

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Notice to all participants

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