Reincarnated In Ben 10

"It's rare for Grandpa to buy us normal food," Gwen remarked, watching as Max ordered crawfish for everyone.

"Must be the charm," Fred mumbled, eating silently. "I wonder if I can create another one since I memorized all those runes etched on each charm," he added playfully.

"Anyway, I'm heading back to the rust bucket. I have an appointment today," Fred said as he stood up and left.

"Wonder what that's about," Gwen pondered, while Ben eagerly piled more crawfish onto his plate, seizing the opportunity since Fred was now gone.

"Hey! Leave some for us too," Gwen scolded, stopping Ben from hoarding all the food.

Back in the rust bucket, Fred made himself comfortable on the couch behind the driver's seat. Suddenly, his hair changed color, glimmering like the cosmos. Partially transforming into Alien X, his eyes turned purple and his nails became black, dashed with star-like dots. His body seemed to freeze, no longer moving, as he entered his mind space to join the deliberators.

"Welcome, Fredrick," Rhandzu greeted warmly.

"Hmpf, took you long enough. I almost thought you'd back out on our deal," Matimba said, a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Someone sounds like a tsundere," Fred muttered, causing Rhandzu to chuckle.

"So then, what's up? How do we start?" Fred asked. "Can I make a chair? I feel like I should sit down."

"Nah, don't worry about it. Now then, as we agreed, here's the list," Matimba said, a thick book materializing in front of Fred. He was surprised by its size but relieved it didn't seem to reach a million pages. As he opened it, a paper flew out, revealing the first deliberation.

"Denied," Fred said firmly.

"What's wrong with turning everyone into Chibi versions of themselves? Chibis are cute," Matimba argued.

"Of course Chibis are cute, but that doesn't mean everyone should become one," Fred rejected. "And why are you coming up with these weird proposals?"

"Anyway, I vote no to Chibis," Fred declared.

"Seconded," Rhandzu agreed.

"Urgh, fine. Motion carried," Matimba grumbled as another paper flew up, shining and revealing the next deliberation. This process continued for hours, with deliberations stretching into the next day.

Meanwhile, a new hero emerged, saving construction workers. Lucky Girl made her official debut as a crime fighter.

"Wait, yeah, let's go with this one," Fred suggested during the deliberations.

"I disagree. Affecting the lives of others and treating it as a game is cruel," Rhandzu countered.

"Well, she's not entirely wrong. Trapping random people in a game world does sound a bit much," Fred conceded. "How about..."

The deliberations carried on. "Yawn!" Fred stretched as the twenty-four-hour session finally ended, more than half the pages gone.

"That was tiring," Fred yawned, his hair returning to normal but his eyes retaining their purple hue. He could move again.

"Finally, I'm back," he said, noticing the rust bucket moving and Gwen holding a tape recorder.

"Did I miss something?" Fred asked.

"Not much," Ben said, moving to sit at the front.

"What happened to you? It felt like you were frozen or something," Gwen questioned.

"It's just something I'll have to deal with because of my powers," Fred explained, leaving them slightly confused.

"Does it have to do with Ben's watch?" Gwen asked.

"More or less. Some aliens are harder to control. You might also experience this as you unlock more aliens, Ben," Fred said.

As the rust bucket rolled towards their next destination, the gang continued to discuss Lucky Gwen and the events that had transpired.

"Huh, I mean, was it really necessary for you to destroy them?" Fred asked, his tone contemplative. "I get being afraid of drowning in power, but you could ease yourself into it, you know," he added. But what's done was done, and Gwen had made a significant decision, one that weighed heavily on such young shoulders. Fred decided to let it go.

The next morning arrived with the rust bucket parked by a bustling waterpark. Ben, already dressed and ready, was bursting with excitement. "Come on! Hurry up, would ya?" he called out impatiently, eager to start his day.

"Riptide Rapid Zone, here I come," he muttered, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. "What's taking so long, Grandpa?" he shouted again.

"Easy there, Ben. It's not like the waterpark will disappear," Max said as he finally emerged.

"You know, normally that would be true, but given our adventures so far, that might actually happen," Fred remarked dryly. With everyone ready, they headed into the park.

The kids made a beeline for the Riptide Rapid Zone. "Nice, there's no line yet. We're so lucky," Ben said, his excitement bubbling over.

"Come on, what are you standing there for?" Gwen called, running ahead.

"Please stand next to the box first. If you can't meet the height requirements, then please step aside," a bored teenager instructed, clearly not thrilled with his job. "Step aside, please," he said to Ben, who didn't meet the height requirements.

"Uh, what?! It's just a few inches..." Ben ranted, but the teenager wasn't interested. "Step aside, please. Next," he repeated as Gwen and Fred passed without issue.

"Aw, is the wittle baby sad? Don't worry, I heard the baby banana boats are quite fun for the smaller set," Gwen teased, moving ahead.

Ben pouted, sneaking away to an unpopulated area to transform. "Wo ho ho!" Fred screamed as he took the slide. "Looks like it's my turn," Gwen said, stepping forward. As she sat down, a little grey nuisance rushed to join her.

"Race you to the bottom!" it squeaked.

"Ben!" Gwen exclaimed as they took off.

"Yeah!" Ben rejoiced as they splashed into the pool together. "That was awesome," he said, grinning ear to ear.

"Um, what are you doing? Grandpa won't like you going alien just to sneak onto a ride," Gwen scolded.

"That's only if he finds out. Once I time out, it'll be like nothing happened. Won't it?" Ben said, looking at Gwen expectantly.

"Fine, you owe me one," she said, standing up and walking away, not wanting to get involved. Ben turned to see Fred glaring at him.

"You're currently in one of your smartest, if not the smartest, forms and you still managed to act so..." Fred muttered, then turned and walked away.

Ben sighed in relief, but moments later, a person emerged from the water, grabbing Grey Matter. Panicking, Ben called out to Gwen. The person ran, and Gwen spotted him.

"Hey, watch it," Max said as the person bumped into him while running.

"Grandpa! Grandpa! That person has Grey Matter!" Gwen yelled. Max's expression turned serious as he chased after the kidnapper.

"Pant... Pant... Pant... I'm not... I'm not as fit as I used to be. Don't wait for me, go!" Max urged Gwen as she sprinted ahead.

Catching his breath, Max used the bracelets Fred had given him to contact Fred. "Meet us at the rust bucket. Ben's been kidnapped," he said urgently.

"Oh, no," Gwen gasped as the kidnapper drove away with Ben.