#. it's not yet here but my parents will bring it to me in october aaaahhhh

[eohachu]

every now and then i remember that western digital ACTUALLY sent me a replacement for my broken external drive and i scream internally!!!!! after the maze that getting that broken thang there i cannot believe it actually worked. they actually sent me a new one. i am so happy

[seizerofdarkness]

Baby!Ben and Dad!Tetrax

I just had this AU idea some days ago and I felt like writing something out of it

Approaching the vehicle parked in the desert, the crystal-made Bounty Hunter knocked three times on the door. He waited a bit, wondering how he even ended up here in the first place.

He had pretended to be a Hunter for hire again, acted as if he was going to help the cyborg and Sotoraggian get the Omnitrix for Vilgax and now spent the afternoon alone chasing the car through the dunes of the empty desert.

Thankfully, it seemed the Omnitrix’s signal has been cut off, meaning whoever using it finally stopped tampering with the device. And since the vehicle seemed to be empty of whatever fuel it used, he could interrogate the current bearer of the Omnimatrix.

He had to wonder what kind of man Max Tennyson was, though. According to the reports he recently received, the old Plumber had found the Omnitrix and put an end to his retirement to fight off any incoming thief who had tried to steal the Omnitrix away.

But oddly enough, it seemed he didn’t use the Omnitrix that much for his bidding. He apparently ordered some Plumber weapons for self-defense, kept changing locations and witnesses said they didn’t ever see him with something remotely resembling the device in question.

It was impossible to take the Omnitrix off unless the user managed to unlock the codes for it or if the creator gave the user the code (and Azmuth would’ve told Tetrax if it was the case). Yet the signal was going strong almost every 20 minutes since he arrived on Earth, so either Max Tennyson solely used the Omnitrix for training and only started using it more frequently when Tetrax came.

Or there was something wrong with the signals.

He didn’t see another reason why everything seemed so... illogical with the data he gathered. A Magister (a retired one but still) should know the Omnitrix should be used cautiously, instead of using it over and over again like the madmen who wanted it for theirselves would probably do.

It was already tiring enough to get here. He wanted to fix his mistakes, to bring Vilgax down, to see Petropia again, to feel whole without the mess he made back then, but he knew it was impossible for now. This mission should be easy: check on the Omnitrix’s wearer, discuss with him on what to do with it and its inner functions, make a report and send it to Azmuth. Easy.

Sure, he hadn’t expected the man to trap him, Sixsix and Kraab in the mines after luring them with the signal, and he should’ve been more careful now that the man was fleeing. What reason did Max Tennyson have to run away from a fight anyway? He had the Omnitrix, Bounty Hunters (specifically an unwilling one and two incompetent ones) should’ve been no match for him.

He started getting impatient and knocked on the door again.

“Magister Tennyson, are you here? I’m Tetrax Shard, charged of guarding the Omnitrix. I know you’re here, I’ve been informed of you receiving it and must do a checkup on your use of it. Please open the door and cooperate.”

He kept waiting for the old man to open. Was he that wary of the Petrosapian? He hadn’t exactly been the most friendly back there either, attacking him as a cover so that the other two hunters wouldn’t suspect a thing. But now they were alone, and Tetrax revealing his identity should raise at least a few flags.

“Magister Tennyson, if you do not cooperate, I’ll have to enter by force.” he threatened.

Still no response. He took his gloves off but before he could send a hurricane of crystals onto the RV, the door finally opened, revealing a grey-haired old man in a red Hawaiian shirt.

“Yes, I am Max Tennyson, but you have the wrong idea.”

Tetrax lowered his arms down and analyzed the human in front of him. He didn’t look that much in shape to fight, and seemed a bit too old to fight without a good weapon. Good thing he received the Omnitrix. Speaking of which...

Where was the Omnitrix?

Tetrax’s eyes widened as he realized the human’s hands were bare from the Omnitrix, only having some bandages here and there. Did he take it off the bad way?

Why would he do that? Vilgax the Conqueror was chasing out whoever wore it, and it was already bad enough that the one responsible of getting the Omnitrix already had a bad history with him (like anyone who ever met Vilgax).

“What’s the meaning of this? Why aren’t you wearing the Omnitrix?”

Max sighed. “Come inside” he said, beckoning the alien to follow him. As he got in, he heard a cry and saw a green flash of light coming out of the bedroom, from what looked like a child playground. He saw something red crawling on the wall and yelped as the four-armed tiny creature jumped on his face.

He felt a dozen of tiny punches on his face, not enough to knock him out but still strong enough to prevent him from seeing AND it felt quite annoying. As he was about to pierce through the attacker with his crystal arm, Max took a hold of his hand and spoke out.

“Ben! Behave!”

“But Grandpa!” came a whiny voice from the red fiend on Tetrax’s face. He felt the thing coming off and, as he looked, there was a green-eyed infant Tetramand jumping into Max’s arms.

“A... Tetramand?”

“Ben, we have a guest, it’s not nice to attack people without knowing why they’re here.”

“But Grandpa! He tried to hurt you! And he scared Gwen! He’s a meanie!” the baby Tetramand pouted.

A little redheaded human girl with buck teeth, a pink dress and a yellow skirt came out of behind the curtains of one of the bed. She ran to Max and asked “Ben, is the big mean man gone?” She looked at Tetrax and immediately shouted, crying again and hiding behind Max “Waaaaahhhh! He’s still here! Ben make him go aaaahhhh!”

Max picked the little girl and pet her hair. “There, there. It’s okay, Gwen. He’s not going to hurt anyone. He’s a nice man.”

Tetrax stood speechless while Max took care of both kids. The Tetramand toddler wore a black and white shirt, with the Omnitrix symbol on his upper left arm.

No.

No.

NO.

No!

This couldn’t be it. No way a baby was able to get the Omnitrix. This had to be an error, maybe there was a function that could make the wearer look younger and he wasn’t told. Anything but this, it was just plain unimaginable.

The Omnitrix beeped red and the young Tetramand soon turned into a young human toddler, wearing green overalls with white numbers saying "5 1/2" on a black square in front, a white shirt underneath it.

Tetrax blinked twice, before sighing and opening his helmet, making his face visible, to which both toddlers made impressed sounds.

“Would you mind explaining what’s going on?” he said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“...and now he’s wearing it and can’t take it off.” Tetrax pulled the largest sigh ever made in Earth’s records.

“You’re telling me, that you left your own grandson unsupervised and allowed him to get in the forest, where the Omnitrix landed and merged with his DNA?! What kind of sick joke is this?!”

“Look, I was busy taking care of Gwen at the time. The children’s parents wanted me to show them the country for summer vacation, before getting them in kindergarten at the beginning of October. Ben and Gwen are hard to manage together when you haven’t raised a baby in about 30 years. Ben sneaked off while I was cleaning up the mess he made. When he came back moments after, he was a Pyronite and almost burned the carpet.”

“How long did it take for you to find out he was gone?”

“The same amount of time it took him to find the Omnitrix. Babies are full of energy, especially Ben. I know it seems impossible, but I’m trying to teach him how to use it and not to show his powers in public.”

That was it, Tetrax’s patience had reached its limits. A toddler with the Omnitrix. What else did Max Tennyson have in mind?! Was his granddaughter an alien too?! He immediately stood back up from his seat and raised his voice.

“No, I don’t care what you’re trying to do, but this child isn’t keeping the Omnitrix. I’ll bring him over to its creator for its removal, I’ll notify you when I’ll bring him back.”

It didn’t take more than two seconds for Max to raise a protective hand towards his grandson.

“Don’t even think about it! Ben is my grandson and my son Carl counted on me to take care of him. My family needs me more than ever after my last slip-up and I won’t fail them even if the universe is at stakes!”

“You don’t understand, this is beyond your little family problems. Vilgax is hunting that kid down and he won’t give up until he gets what he wants. This is for his own safety as well as everyone else in this entire solar system. Give him to me.”

“Maybe he can go to outer space when he gets older, but now he’s still just a baby. Can’t Azmuth come by himself to take it off of Ben’s wrist?”

“This is plain ridiculous, you’re letting your-”

They were interrupted by another cry from the baby girl. Gwen was crying again. They were so busy arguing they didn’t notice the poor little girl tearing up at the conversation.

“Nooooo grandpaaaaaaa! I don’t want Ben to goooo wwwwaaaaahhhhhhh!” she screamed in an obnoxiously loud voice, probably loud enough to make a Sonorasian go home.

“There there, Gwen” said Max as he picked his granddaughter up, patting her back to comfort her. “It’s okay, Ben isn’t going anywhere. Not if I have something to say about it.”

Another green flash of green came from the playground, and a blue flash sped through before climbing on the window.

“You won’t kidnap me you big alien jerk if I’m XLR8!” he pouted, in Kineceleran form, before sprinting out of the RV.

Tetrax felt like he was about to lose his mind. His planet is destroyed, his current employer is a misanthrope, Vilgax and the other hunters were probably still out there, and now he had to get the Omnitrix back from a child, one that could probably hurt himself while doing so.

He picked up his hoverboard and came out of the RV, about to chase the young boy, but he stopped as soon as he set a foot outside the vehicle. Not only because Max held him back despite his injured hands, but also because Sixsix and Kraab were now standing in front of the door, their weapons aimed at both men. He growled in frustration.

This really wouldn't be easy, would it?

Heatblast threw fireballs at the nearby rocks, venting out his anger on the empty desert in front of him. It wasn't fair!

First, Gwen got the last cupcake, then the Sumo Slammers movie was canceled and he'd have to wait a week before seeing it, he was grounded for making Gwen cry with Ghostfreak and now one of the meanies who hurt his Grandpa wanted to take his toy away!

He'd have to look for Ben to do that, and no way Ben lets him take the...

How did the Diamondhead meanie call the watch? The Omnitrix? He wasn't sure and he didn't care, no one will steal his new toy. No one!

He started tiring after a few moments and, still angry at what Tetrax tried to do, he cried very hard. Heatblast didn't notice the fire on his body growing at every minute and, before he could realize it, the watch started beeping and he reverted back to Ben.

The transformation snapped him out of his crying mess and, as he tried to wipe his tears away, he saw what trouble he got himself into.

All around him there was glass. Millions of shards everywhere. He couldn't walk through them and the watch was red, which meant he couldn't use Stinkfly or Ghostfreak to fly away. Scared, he called out for help.

"Grandpa! Gwen! Mommy! Daddy!" he shouted, scared at the idea of staying stuck in this place. "Help! Heeeeeelp!"

Afraid of hurting himself, he tried to step back and took a glance behind him. Nope, there were too many shards, he'd end up like the poor creature his Grandpa usually gave him and Gwen for dinner if he took even one step forward.

He wanted to see his family again so bad now, he would do anything to get help now. He swore to be nicer. He promised himself, if he could get out of here, he'd let Gwen play with his toys, he'd clean his bed every morning and night, he'd give all his marbles back to JT even if they weren't friends anymore, he'd eat all the food his mommy and Grandpa gave him even if he didn't like it, he'd even-

He was interrupted from his promises by a voice.

"Kid, are you in here?" he recognized Tetrax's voice and pouted.

"NO!"

Tetrax was standing several feet away, his crystal-made body allowing him to walk on the now spiky ground without any visible pain. As he tried to get nearby, it seemed Ben was about to move, potentially injuring himself, prompting the Petrosapian to stay where he was.

"Don't you want to see your grandfather?"

That struck a nerve. Ben started to shout angrily at the alien. If he could, he'd become Wildmutt, bite this meanie in the back and pee on his car. Max told him not to do that, but his grandpa wasn't here for now and he could do what he wants.

“Go away!”

“I’m trying to help.”

“Liar liar, pants on fire! You’re a bad guy, you don’t help people, you hurt them!”

“I am a mercenary and a heroic warrior. You on the other hand, you don’t know how to use the Omnitrix. You could hurt someone with it, you trapped yourself in here, you tried to break my nose and now, you’re making your grandfather and sister worry.”

“Gwen is my cousin, not my sister! And you don’t know a thing about being a hero!”

“I don’t?” the Petrosapian teased.

“Yeah you don’t! You attacked my grandpa with those guys and you want to steal my watch. You’re wearing all dark clothes, that’s how bad guys dress! And then, you talk about helping, but you said you were a hunter! Hunters kill animals and that’s mean! You’re a bad guy!”

“Then if animals are bad, is it bad to get rid of them?”

“If they have a family to feed, yes! Grandpa taught me to be nice and I want to be a hero with the watch. You don’t have your grandpa with you, you don’t know how to be nice! So it makes you bad!” Ben stuck his tongue out.

“A family. Huh...” Tetrax looked down after the child’s argument had made its impact. “I haven’t seen my family in years now.” That startled Ben right away.

“What?! You don’t see your mommy and daddy anymore?”

“I... you’re right, I am a bad person.” Tetrax shook his head. ”I let everyone on my planet die because I didn’t want their help anymore, I wanted to do everything by myself and for myself, I didn’t think about anyone else.” Ben felt guilty about what he just told the alien. “I took this job as a way to be strong and before I knew it, I helped someone destroy everything I loved, everyone I used to care about.”

“I...I...I’m sorry, mister.”

“What for? You weren’t responsible for what happened.”

“No, but that’s sad. Nobody deserves to be alone. I ran away and made you go all the way here when you didn’t even have anyone to help. Well, except Grandpa, but you don’t know him. But why did you try to take my watch? Did it belong to you before I found it?”

“No, but I was asked to make sure if the person wearing it was a good one, if they could use the power responsibly to help people instead of harming them.” Tetrax decided baby talk could help. The kid was too young and had a good reason for being unable to understand some things. “Your grandpa told me about him teaching you how to fight villains. Doesn’t it bother you to do that all the time?”

“No, I love to help! I can save the world, stop bad guys, hang out with cool guys, have amazing stuff to thank me,” Tetrax winced at the last one “get stronger, have fun with my powers and the coolest thing is, I’m like a superhero!”

Tetrax couldn’t help but laugh a bit at what the child told him.

“What’s funny, mister?”

“Nothing, it’s just... I expected you to attack me more, I didn’t think we’d have a talk over this. You’re more smart than you let people think, I just hope it’s not too much for you, you might regret wearing the Omnitrix at some point.”

“Mister... I don’t want to give my watch, I like it, it’s so cool I wanna keep it! Pleeeeaaase?”

The Omnitrix’s Guardian thought it over.

Max told me he’d keep an eye on him. It’s too dangerous to leave at the hands of a toddler, but it could all work out. He doesn’t know what danger he’s exposing himself in, but maybe practice can make perfect in the situation. He could become a potential asset in case the universe gets in serious danger.

“Ben, I’m sorry. You can keep the watch now. I shouldn’t have attacked the Rustbucket (even though I didn’t really have a choice), I should’ve asked you nicely if you wanted to keep the watch. Instead I ran after you and tried to take you away. I’m sorry.”

Ben didn’t seem in a sour mood anymore and with a cheerful voice, he said “Don’t worry about me mister! I’m okay now! It’s okay! Hey, maybe you’re not such a bad guy after all.”

Tetrax smiled at the remark and got closer to Ben. “Need any help?” he lent a hand, to which Ben pouted again (albeit with a more playful face).

“I’m a big boy now, I can do it on my own!”

“Oh really?” Tetrax teased.

“Yeah!” Ben said as he touched the now green Omnitrix’s dial. Before Tetrax could tell him to be careful, he slammed the dial and turned into, not an Ectonurite, not a Lepidotpterran, not even a Pyronite, but a young little Petrosapian.

“Woops! Well, I can now walk on my own!” he said as he started running before tripping on a rock and ending up covered in pieces of glass. At least it couldn’t pierce through his skin now, it was fine.

Tetrax stared at Diamondhead for a bit, definitely not expecting his species to be part of the ones available in the current roster the Omnitrix generated, much less expecting to see an infant creature from his planet after such a long time.

He walked over and picked the young boy up, putting him in his arms and gently patting his head. “Let’s get you home now.”

“I think I’ll join you” he declared.

“Huh?” Max raised a brow at what Tetrax told him.

“I said I will accompany you on your vacation to make sure Ben stays safe and uses the Omnitrix correctly.”

“What?!�� asked Max, surprised at the reveal. “But don’t you need to make a report to Azmuth? How will he react if he doesn’t get it?”

“I already sent him a dozen of them, he didn’t respond even once.” he huffed “It will be much easier to take care of an alien child if there’s an alien nearby, once that actively interacts with other species and knows what they’re capable of.”

Max tried to argue but was interrupted by XLR8 running inside the RV. The blue speedster was immediately caught by Tetrax. “Got you, little speed demon” he smirked.

“Is it true?! You’re staying with us for the rest of the summer?! Is it true Grandpa?” asked XLR8 in a very excited voice.

Max looked at his bandages, recalling all the times Ben ‘went hero’ inside and pretty much damaged a good part of the furniture. Having a babysitter, one that wouldn’t contact the authorities as soon as his grandson turned into a living flamethrower, would be nice while he could focus on keeping Gwen safe from this entire mess.

“Fine, you can come with us for the road-trip. But don’t think I forgot about what happened earlier, you’ll have to do some chores around if you want to stay.”

“Hmm, I don’t mind.”

“YAY!” shouted XLR8 before reverting back to Ben, giving his new friend a hug.

“But Grandpa” asked Gwen “Isn’t the Rustbucket too small for all of us?”

“Don’t worry, there’s enough room for-”

“I CAN SHARE MY BED WITH HIM!” announced Ben. Everyone looked at him.

“But Ben” said Gwen in a worried voice “he’s too heavy, he’ll crush me if he breaks the top bunk.”

“You can sleep on the top bunk now, I’ll sleep on the bottom one with my new best friend!”

“Really?! Yaaaaaaay” said Gwen as she ran to bounce on the top bunk. Max quickly ran to prevent her from bouncing off and hurting herself.

“It looks like everyone already accepted you as part of the family.” said Max in a friendly way. Tetrax smiled.

Family.

It did feel good to be part of something like this.

Tetrax refrained himself from laughing as Ben kept moving in his spot, trying to find a right position to sleep.

“Told ya. Even without my armor, my skin is too tough to rest your head on.” He now wore a black tank and blue shorts with a material strong enough to not be cut by a diamond head. But now it seemed the metal armor was more comfortable than his bare skin.

Ben looked at Tetrax and blinked twice before getting an idea. “I know!” He slapped the Omnitrix, and turned into Diamondhead again. “There” he laid his head on the adult’s arm and, almost instantly, he fell into slumber.

Tetrax knew it would only be a matter of time before the Omnitrix timed out, but he decided to let the kid have his fair share of sleep. He brought Ben closer to his chest and, feeling the boy raise his arms in his sleep to hug him, he smiled before falling asleep too.

It felt nice to have someone to care for.