//------------------------------//
// The More Things Change: Part Two 
// Story: Into the Omniverse and Maybe Back 
// by AnimeFan419 
//------------------------------//

Both Ben and Twilight were cornered and the dog looked like it was about to attack any minute. The two were trapped. The only thing that they could do was run and do they did. The strange dog then chased after the two temporarily separating them and the dog was still in its’ changeling form. Meanwhile, Twilight’s savior realized that he has lost the person that he was trying to save. Relieved, he finally found her in a dark alley.

“Wow, you really gave me a scare back there miss.” That was when figure the got the shock of a lifetime when he saw that this was not Twilight at all. Out of defense, the figure then looked at his watch and a hologram popped up. There were many different kinds of species for Twilight’s savior to choose from. The male teen then slapped the watched and suddenly transformed. He was now a blue monkey. The next thing he knew was that the dog changed into a different form.

“Oh come on new Omnitrix why do you hate me?” The teen complained only to be pulled into the darkness by a couple of hands. The shapeshifter was about to attack only to realize that it was only Twilight. “You know that I could have attacked you right?” 

“No but I think that I have found an escape route.” Twilight replied.

“So are you sure that you have never heard of me?” The figure asked.

“No should I? Then again, everything about this place is familiar.”

“Seriously? I saved the universe several times! How can you not know me?”

“We are both being hunted by a strange dog and that is what you are worried about? We try to get out of here first and then we can worry about it later. Now come follow me, I know the perfect spot.” Twilight was now beginning to get impatient but she didn’t want to sound like the bad guy.

“Hey don’t blame me, when you are a world famous hero than you pretty much know what to expect and don’t say that we are going to escape through the sewers.” Twilight’s savior complained. The next thing they knew was that they were indeed using the sewers to escape. “I need to learn how to keep my big mouth shut.” The make teen complained and he was no human again when he said this. It was also dark so Twilight had to use a spell in order to bring in some light.

“Look, I don’t want to be the bad guy in this situation so how about we start over. My name is Twilight Sparkle, what’s yours?” There was silence for a while and the only response the magic user got was a chuckle from the teen. Twilight then raised the brow at this new behavior but tried to be patient.

“So wait, is that supposed to be your name or is that really on your birth certificate because that name sounds like it came from a cartoon for four year old.” Ben said trying to hold in another chuckle.

“Hey, I am trying to be polite and I would appreciate it, if you would cooperate so that we would not die.” Twilight snapped.

“Sorry but your name is kind of ridiculous and I was having a bad day.” Ben admitted. “My name is Ben Tennyson.” The teen said holding out his hand and Twilight shook it.

“That’s better.” Twilight said. The duo then teacher further and further into the tunnel until they finally found a light. There Twilight saw the world tree and a manhole cover. Twilight then decided to inspect it wondering how it even got here but then remembered that the tree was connected to the entire multiverse. That was when she remembered that they were still being chased. Ben then found a ladder and the two finally climbed up. Once on the streets, they saw that an entire block of the city was destroyed. There were several stores that were demolished as well. 

“I think that I have a pretty good idea of what caused all of this destruction. This would be a good opportunity to investigate!” Said Twilight and the next thing Ben knew was that the teenage girl put down her backpack and took out a bunch of stuff like, charts, a conspiracy board, a pencil and a notepad. “Can’t be too prepared.” The shapeshifter then looked at the girl and suddenly Ben was concerned.

“That seems a bit excessive.”

“I know! This will be fun!”

“Sounds more like a you thing.” Said Ben still wondering if she should be worried. As the two were walking (and Ben still wondered how Twilight was able to carry all of that stuff without her powers) they soon stumbled upon a giant crater. Twilight then dropped some of her stuff and even made the teen hero carry some of it to his dismay. The next thing he knew was that the magician took out an old fashioned camera out of her backpack and took a picture.

“Are they gone?” Out of the shadows came out an alien shopkeeper. The shopkeeper himself looked like a mixture of a bug and a green squid. Not only that but he even wore what looked like a diving suit. Twilight then looked at the shopkeeper and he seemed pretty shaken. Twilight on the other hand, still tried to figure out where she has seen this before. The shop owner then looked at Twilight and became frightened once he noticed that she had a crazed smile on her face.

“Hey we don’t bite, I am Ben Tennyson: world’s greatest hero!” The shapeshifter bragged. “She might though.” Ben said pointing to Twilight and even had to slap her as an effort to get her to snap out of it.

“So who destroyed the place? Unhappy costumer?” Twilight asked out of curiosity and was even to write the answer down.

“Hardly, all Pakmar wanted to do was to run his toilet emporium in peace and now it is in pieces! It’s those thugs, they are supposed to be protecting alien shops with the payment of taydenite but if you don’t pay the fee than you will be the one that needs protecting.” The alien now known as Packmar said as he hid inside one of the toilets that weren’t broken. Ben even tried to help clean up the place only to get a surprise when one of the toilets was squirting water. “Different aliens have different needs.” The alien said shrugging his shoulders.

“I don’t even want to know.” Ben said without any emotion while Twilight was fascinated. That was when Twilight had an idea of who the bounty hunter’s next target would be: Me. Bauman. Twilight thought that the guy seemed nice enough but she was worried that her partner might blow their cover. Once inside, she the saw the shopkeeper stocking up some cans.

“Hello, Mr. Bauman.” Said Twilight nearly scaring the self employed manager half to death. That was when he saw the shapeshifter and said,”Tennyson, you come into my store and you drag this poor girl into whatever scheme you are planning.” It was clear that Mr. Bauman was not happy to see him.

“Don’t worry Mr. Bauman. He’s with me and I promise that there will be minimal damage to your store.” The store owner then stared at Twilight and it was clear that Twilight was not okay with the new outcome. Before the alien equine knew it, Ben suddenly transformed himself into an alien. The teenage girl then saw Ben knocking into everything and even broke a few items. Mr. Bauman then gave Twilight a disapproving look and that was when she realized where she has seen this before: all of the things that were happening now were from her comic book.

That was when she realized that the timeline she was in took place in the Khyber arc. It soon hit her and everything seem to go downhill from there. This wasn’t the first time she has been inside a comic book. Still, she wondered why the world tree would call her here. The only time the tree would call someone to another world was if there was a friendship problem and as far as she was concerned, there was no friendship problems in this story arc at least. Not to mention that Ben is capable of solving his own friendship problem with Rook. Then there is the matter of finding the world tree in the sewers.

There was so many question running through Twilight’s head at the moment. Still, she had to help Ben since he is now Cannonbolt recking everything. He even had to use an extra seat to sit on which was obnoxious in Twilight’s opinion. Twilight was just glad that she could find an empty seat to sit on as well. While she sat down, she saw that there was a mysterious robed figure sitting right next to her. She knew who the mysterious figure was and it was the Rovanahgander Rook.

“Are you going to finish that?” Ben still in alien form asked.

“Ben, I will have you know that the kind of behavior you are displaying now is very rude.” Said Twilight a bit annoyed.

“What? I was being chased by a stupid dog all day so I never got the chance to eat.”

“I don’t care wether or not you are hungry. That is still rude and you have already damaged the store.”

“Why.... why do you have to be such a.... dweeb!” Cannonbolt accused surprising Twilight in the process. Her jaw dropped down and she thought hard to think of a comeback. That was when she stood up from her seat and said,“Well if you think that I am such a dweeb than you are a doofus!” The teenage girl said pointing her index finger at Ben who was now shocked. The guy in the middle only watched and gave Ben the food that he asked for diffusing the argument all together. As if on cue, the bounty hunters that the duo was looking for came in. One was a chicken, the other looked like a fish in a glass bubble and the last one was an alien woman made up entirely of metal except for her face.

The three guys were bigger than our heroes and Twilight even looked as though she were about to have a panic attack when Ben said,”Hey, I hear that Pakmar has a great deal on toilets.” Cannonbolt said. Twilight was now breathing heavily and was pleasantly surprised that the stranger in the cloak gave her a paper brown bag to breathe into. It seemed to do the trick and the magician was now calm.

“That was actually cool. Do you have any sides for this?” Ben asked the stranger and before he knew it, the stranger gave him all of the sides that were available for the burger that he was eating. The trio ignored the bounty hunters all together and once they were at the counter Mr. Bauman was there ready to pay them looking quite scared. He even had a chest full of taydanite and the leader of the group took all of them expect for one. That was when the trouble started and it seemed that the chicken alien was trying his best to hold back on his craving for the bird seed that was on sale yet he still gave in his craving and starting to eat it anyway.

“Are you going to pay for that?” Said Twilight trapping her in a magical bubble.

“Oh no, not again.” Said Mr. Bauman who began to crawl under the table. However it was too late when it revealed that the stranger was on Ben and Twilight’s side. 

“This doesn’t concern you Homosapien Equine and leave the Aubruian Palelotra out of this.” The leader of the group threatened while Twilight kept the chicken alien contained in the magical bubble. 

“Now, now, I don’t want any trouble.” Said Mr. Bauman trying to diffuse the situation. The chicken man struggled to break free until the magic bubble began to shatter into pieces. It was mostly due to that fact that one of the bounty hunters knew the name of her species and she wondered how that was even possible.

“I told you not to interfere and not it’s time to teach you a lesson.” Said the leader.

“And let me guess: you are going to try and teach it to me.” Said Ben with a cocky smile while Twilight felt the urge to smack him. While this was all going on Mr. Bauman was begging the group to take the fight outside. The leader then took out some weapons and the shopkeeper began to become nervous knowing that a fight was about to take place. A device was then set in the middle of the store to let everyone know that they meant business. That was when Twilight realized that it was supposed to be some kind of bomb.

“Please don’t do this, I’ll pay you to stop.” Mr. Bauman begged.

“Really?” Ben asked only to have Twilight smack him. “I mean, I won’t let you guys get away with this.” The next thing Mr. Bauman knew was that a fight began anyway. Ben even had to dodge some laser while Mr. Bauman complained about said lasers. Ben then curled himself in ball form accidentally knocking down some shelves. While the fight was going on Twilight rushed into battle in order to help and the shopkeeper still complained about the fight that was taking place. The guy that was still still down even helped out when one of the laser began to hit him. He remained calm and used a spoon on one of the lasers that were about to hit him.

“I knew that bad things were going to happen the moment he shows up.” Mr. Bauman complained while he still hid behind the counter. Ben was still Cannonbolt and while the fight was going on, he kept on breaking things.

“I will make sure to clean it up after the fight.” Ben promised.

“You always say that.” Replied Mr. Bauman. As if on instinct, Twilight pulled out her wand in order to figure out how to disarm the bomb but before she could, she was attacked from behind and Twilight had to cast a spell so that she could protect herself. 

“A sneak attack? How low can you go Bubble Head?” Twilight taunted and tried to cast some more spells even though she was more worried about the bomb. While the fight was going on the bomb began to activate and Ben used his abilities to get rid of it only to finally notice that there was a force field protecting it. Meanwhile, Ben was having his own problem when one of the villains tried to attack him only to become distracted once he saw the bird seed. Ben then realized that he still had it in his hand. The moment the chicken alien tried to attack him, the shapeshifter used the opportunity to curls up in a ball and trap the alien inside.

Then there was the mysterious guy still sitting at the table. Even though Twilight knew that it was Rook, she had to admit that she was impressed with the way he was handling the situation. Mr. Bauman on the other hand was still complaining about how his store was being destroyed. Ben then dropped one of the villains onto the female cyborg. Twilight then saw Bubble Head who was still trying to activate the countdown. Twilight then tried to stop him but was already too late when the countdown began. 

“Ben.” The shop keeper begged once he saw what was going on.

“Not a problem.” The shapeshifter replied. Ben then curled up into a ball forgetting that there was a force field that was surrounding it. Twilight then tried to help but the two ended up knocking each other out. The next thing that happened was that when Ben heard the time out on his watch, he returned to normal.

“Now? Really?” Ben complained.

“I had it under control and I would have been able to use alahamora to deactivate the force field.” Twilight snapped not realizing that the bad guy was getting away. The two then finally noticed him when he said,”Goodby Mr. Bauman.” The two then tried to get up only to end up hurting each other by accident instead.

“Is this when one of your friends save the day?” Mr. Bauman asked sounding a bit annoyed. As if on cue, the mysterious stranger picked up on that and got rid of his disguise. To Twilight’s delight she was excited to finally see Rook. The alien was a cat like creature with blue fur and blue armor with black highlights. Ben was shocked once Rook sprang into action while Twilight had to contain herself from fangirling. 

“Not another one.” Mr. Bauman complained. “I was being sarcastic.” The shopkeeper then ducked in order to protect himself. Next, Rook took out his weapon which looked like some sort of gun. The next thing Ben knew was that hug gun transformed into a high tech taser and even fired an arrow at the escapee. Twilight on the other hand had sparkles in her eyes.

“Thanks for the assistance ma’am but leave this to the professionals.” Rook advise but Twilight wasn’t the type to sit down and wait so she helped anyway. She grabbed her wand and was now in a fighting stance. Apparently, Rook was able to take care of himself once he took care of the other two.

“Who are you?” Ben asked still amazed at what just happened.

“Rook Blonko, Magister Tennyson sent me and you must be Ben Tennyson’s new apprentice. Forgive me for my mistake, I assumed that you were just an innocent bystander.” Ben then looked at Twilight and Twilight looked at Ben who was equally confused.

“So grandpa sent you and I don’t recall agreeing to an apprentice.”

“Don’t look at me, I am just as confused as you are.”

“Really? I thought that Magister Luna would have informed you.” Twilight sweat dropped once the rookie said this. Still, she thought that it was nice to know that one of the princesses were okay. Hopefully this was the Luna from her world. Ben was still shocked but that was only because the chicken alien was about to attack Rook from behind. Rook then sensed the attack and knocked him out in two seconds.

“I am your new partner and she is your apprentice.” Said Rook. 

“Huh?” Both say simultaneously. 

“My new - I don’t want a new partner and I didn’t ask to take in an apprentice. I’m Ben Tennyson and I saved the universe hundreds of times.” Ben bragged only to get a glare from Twilight.

“I know, it is an honor to meet you.” Said Rook who was oblivious to the entire situation.

“Excuse me but how am I involved? The last time I saw the princesses they were trying to defend my home world from being drained of magic. I can’t be dragged into your problem because my world is dying along with the fact that Trixie as well as the Legion of Doom is on the loose. I just can’t sit by and do nothing.” Twilight ranted.

“Your world has a monarchy? Who is the king and queen?” Rook asked now intrigued.

“We don’t have one, the royal sisters are in charge and they refrain themselves from calling themselves Queen because my world had too many tyrannical rulers calling themselves that.” Twilight explained completely forgetting the situation they were in. “Wait a minute, why am I telling you all this?” 

“Hello, Ben Tennyson here. I saved the universe over a billion times.”

“We know. Learning about you is required at the Plumber Academy.” Rook replied.

“There is a whole class about me?”

“You have a comic book in my world.” Twilight pointed out. She soon found herself wanting to slap her forehead. Why did he tell him that? She knew that she was a fan of Ben 10 but there was no way that she was going to tell him that. Twilight soon found herself being ignored when Rook said,“Chapter and a half.” Ben was soon disappointed but then looked at Twilight hoping that she still had that comic book about him on her. She refused because it contained too many spoilers of the future and him knowing what is yet to come would be a bad thing.

“I am still going to ask about that comic book later.” Ben said turning his attention towards Twilight. “Anyway I was kind of looking forward to doing things on my own and I kind of have things under control so you two can leave.” When Ben said this the duo was not buying it because the entire store looked as though it was about to fall apart.

“My mistake. I just waited until I thought you needed assistance.” As if on cue the bad guys woke up and began their escape. That was when Ben said,”Don’t stop now! The Omnitrix is still recharging.”

“Right away sir.” Rook then actives his gun and a net suddenly appeared capturing the two criminals that were trying to get away along with Bubble Head who was still on the floor unconscious. Twilight then gave Ben an angry glare.

“What? I could have totally handled it myself if I had one of those - those - things.” Ben said unsure of himself.

“You mean my prototool? It is one of the most advance pieces of technology in the universe and anyone qualified needs special training in order to handle one.” Rook explained.

“Well that is true with anything. I didn’t become an expert with magic in one go. I am still a sophomore at Celestia’s Magic Academy.” Twilight admitted only to gets stares from both Rook and Ben. “What? I am just trying to join in the conversation. What am I chopped liver? That’s an expression by the way. It means -“ However Twilight was completely cut off when Ben began to look at the Omnitrix.

“Yes. The Omnitrix is back on. Thanks for the help and when I come back you are telling me about that comic.” Onnce Ben said this, Twilight slapped herself on the forehead. She thought that telling him about that thing was a bad idea in the first place since it was now the only thing he could think about. Ben then turned himself into another alien. This time it was an alien that Ben has never seen before and it was an alien made entirely of LEGO.

“Whoa, who’s this guy?” Ben said a bit surprised. That was when he remembered the bomb and tried to deactivate the bomb. That was when Twilight had an idea and said,“Expelliarmus.” Once she fired the spell with her wand, nothing happened and the spell reflected off the shield.

“Great, they mana proofed the shield. I forgot that that had aliens that could use magic in this universe.” Twilight ranted while Rook only looked at her with concern. That was when the entire group saw that one of the bad guys were cutting through the net. Apparently, the chicken alien was a bit stubborn and would not admit defeat. Ben then saw this and said,”Rook tag me. That is also an expression and it means switch places. Twilight, if you know a spell that could contain those guys that would be great.” 

“All right lets see what this baby can do.” Said Ben and Twilight soon found herself inside of the alien with the bad guys. Without a thought, the group was now inside a dome and the chicken grabbed a weapon to fire at Ben. Twilight on the other hand was able to summon a shield with her wand so that Ben won’t get hurt. 

“So how are things going Rook?” Ben asked. However Rook only stared at the bomb and the timer was only half way done. “What are you waiting for? Blast it with your techno-thingy.” Ben said now getting desperate.

“Prototool.” Rook corrected while he still stared at the bomb. The next thing he did was destroy a wall with his weapon.

“Oh no, not again.” Said Mr. Bauman who lowered his head in despair. 

“There is no time to deactivate the bomb, the arithmetics are too complicated so the only way is to get it away from the populace.” Said Rook who appeared to be a bit worried. 

“Speak English.” Said Ben sounding a bit impatient.

“Help me get it outside.” Rook explained and he did so by freeing Twilight and the other villains in order to get to the bomb. Twilight then followed the two boys to where the wall was destroyed. While this was going on, Ben grabbed the bomb still in alien form. “Wait.” Rook warned holding them both back. Rook’s prototool then turned into a scanner and the cat like alien used it to scan the area.

“That’s okay take your time. Actually, I was being sarcastic please hurry up.”

“I am scanning this area for any sentient life.” Rook then put the prototool away and said,”All clear.” Just when Ben was about to throw it all three bounty hunter were shooting laser at Ben and part of his LEGO body began to fall apart. 

“I got it.” Said Ben once he was able to regenerate some of his missing limbs only for said limb to fall apart again. “I don’t got it.” He said pointing out the obvious. Once Ben was able to pull himself together, he turned himself into a slingshot and threw the bomb into the already abandoned building.

“3, 2, 1.” Said Rook counting down and as it on cue, the bomb exploding taking everything else with it. Luckily Ben, Twilight and Rook were inside a protective dome the entire time before the timer on Ben’s Omnitrix timed out.

“Well, I defiantly have something interesting to tell Princess Celestia for my friendship report.” Said Twilight still amazed about today’s excitement. “Hopefully she would still be alive for me to tell it.” 

“I most definitely hope so because I would love to meet this princess that you speak of and nice work Mr. Tennyson.”

“My name is Ben, dude. I don’t need a new partner or an apprentice and I work alone from now on.”

“Ok Ben dude.”

“It’s just Ben.”

“Okay knock it off! Look Ben, I was just like you when it came to friendship and I know that sometimes it can be annoying but can we please chase after the bad guys before they get away?” Said Twilight who was pointing at the bounty hunter trio and it turned out that they were indeed trying to get away. The super hero trio then saw that the bounty hunter were escaping toward the giant crater that was in front of them. They followed them until they saw that there was an underground city.

“No way.” Said Ben as the city came into view but little did he know was that he and Twilight was still being hunted.