Reincarnated In Ben 10

"So, are we going to just stand here or..." Ben began, but was interrupted by the sound of someone rummaging through the mess left by the alien.

"Quite the mess you've made here, little guy," the person said, his voice calm yet authoritative. "Now be a good little alien and..." He paused dramatically before jumping out and firing his laser gun towards the small creature.

The creature dodged the laser beams with swift movements, dashing behind the person and tripping him. It then tried to make a run for it.

"Phil!" Max exclaimed, recognizing the face of the man hunting the creature.

"A friend of yours?" Gwen asked, curiosity piqued.

"An old plumber partner of mine," Max replied. Hearing this, Fred decided to help out. Still invisible, he used his magic to telekinetically move a crate, trapping the little creature.

"Didn't you say you retired?" Gwen asked Max, puzzled.

"That's what I thought," Max replied, then told Fred to lift the invisibility spell. "Phil, are you okay?" Max asked, approaching him.

"Aww. That threw me off a little there," Phil muttered, getting back up. Seeing Max and the three kids behind him, he was taken aback. "Max!?" he exclaimed. "Well, ain't this a surprise," he said, getting to his feet. He looked behind him and saw the creature entrapped but assumed it had mistakenly trapped itself since Max and his gang were closer to the entrance.

"It's been a while," Max said with a nostalgic smile. "I thought you retired from being a plumber."

"Well, you know, with the increasing alien activity these days, I figured I'd do some freelance plumber work," Phil explained.

"Increasing alien activity, huh?" Max said, raising an eyebrow.

"Hard to believe, right? After you took out Vilgax, Earth became fairly quiet these past years. But now..." Phil glanced at the creature inside the crate. "But forget about that for a moment. I see you have an entourage with you these days," Phil remarked.

"Oh, umm, these are my grandkids, and this is George's grandchild. They're with me on summer vacation," Max introduced the kids.

"Say, that's quite the fancy watch there, kid. I could've sworn I've seen it before," Phil said, eyeing the Omnitrix.

"It's pretty cool, right? It's actually the O..." Ben started to say but Max cut him off before he could finish.

"Well, it was good seeing you, Phil. We'll be heading off now," Max said quickly, pulling Ben along.

"Yeah," Phil replied, waving them off.

"Hey, what was that about?" Ben complained as they got back on the rust bucket.

"Ben, don't reveal the Omnitrix to anyone. Just because Vilgax is gone doesn't mean there's no one after it," Max cautioned.

"Yeah, remember Kevin?" Fred added from the back.

"Phil isn't Kevin. He was a plumber, wasn't he? I don't get why you're keeping secrets from your own friends," Ben argued.

"You're one to talk," Gwen remarked, referring to how many times he had lied during this trip alone.

"Listen, Ben, t..." Max began, but was interrupted by a beeping sound from the dashboard screen.

"Incoming call from Phil," it noted.

"Answer," Max commanded.

"...Max... Vulpamancers... Tearing... Meat... Processing plant..." The video was static, but the message got through.

"It seems the plumbers are getting back in business," Ben rejoiced as the rust bucket took a sharp turn. Max glanced at Ben, doubt in his eyes.

"Strange," Fred remarked.

"What's up?" Gwen asked.

"Well, after we started encountering strange activities during our trip a few days after Ben got the watch, I did some research using the plumber badge that belonged to my dad. The pattern displayed by the sudden alien sightings here doesn't quite match up," Fred explained.

"Seems you've been studying quite a lot," Max remarked with a smile.

"Well, I was actually planning on entering a plumber academy once I finish seventh grade," Fred replied with a blush and a smile.

"Is that so? I'm sure you'll make a fine plumber," Max said, proud.

"Hey, what about me?" Ben chimed in.

"Didn't you want to be more of a hero?" Fred teased.

"Heroes can be plumbers," Ben retorted.

"We're here," Max said, as the sound of roaring creatures echoed from outside the building.

"Can I skip this one?" Gwen asked, fear evident in her voice. As they went inside, they found Phil on the ground, looking like he had taken a beating.

"A familiar position," Fred remarked dryly.

"Phil!" Max hurried towards him.

"M-Ma-Max, you came just in time. There's two Vulpamancers, and they're strong, tricky bunch," Phil said as Max helped him up. The two aliens came into view, drooling and growling.

"Friends of yours?" Gwen asked, noting their resemblance to Wildmutt.

"I'll need some of your help with this one," Phil said.

"Wildmutts!" Ben exclaimed. "Maybe I can talk with them," he suggested, quickly turning into Wildmutt and attempting to communicate with the Vulpamancers.

"Well, I'll be... I knew that watch seemed familiar," Phil said, eyes wide with recognition.

Wildmutt tried to calm the Vulpamancers, but his attempts failed, and they began to chase him. "What did he say to them to get them that agitated?" Gwen wondered.

"Vulpamancers were never too big on small talk," Max said.

"That, and they think he's trying to take the meat for himself," Fred added.

"Wait, you understood that?" Gwen asked, surprised.

"Translation magic," Fred said with a wink and a smile.

"Wait, I've got just the thing," Fred said, pulling out a small remote-looking device. "It's a prototype wave oscillator." He pointed it at the Vulpamancers. "Ben! Cover your ears!" Fred shouted and pressed the red button. A wave of high-frequency sound emitted from the device. Ben covered his ears but was still affected, while the two Vulpamancers were incapacitated.

"Seems your entourage is quite the capable one," Phil said with a smile. "Thanks, you helped me there. And Ben, you've got quite the skills."

Wildmutt reacted happily to the praise from his grandfather's former teammate. Max, however, remained suspicious and kept his thoughts to himself.

"Why don't I treat you all to some dinner?" Phil offered, guiding them outside the plant.

"Haha, sure," Max agreed. Phil 'cleaned up things' as the others waited. Ben, now back to normal, was excited about meeting Phil. Gwen, observing Max, picked up on something fishy and recalled what Fred had mentioned.

"So, does this mean you knew about the watch too?" Gwen asked Fred quietly.

"Well, more or less. I love techy stuff, so I came across some rumors while studying up on aliens," Fred replied.

"Why are you torn about this?" he asked, noticing her troubled expression.

"You might not get it, but it felt like, and sometimes still feels like, I know nothing about Grandpa. It's like we've been living with a fake all this time," she said, her voice filled with emotion.

"Well, I'm not sure if you'll get it, but he wasn't just a space cop, you know," Fred said, catching Gwen's attention. "Plumbers fight multiple and various alien entities. You make enemies a lot easier that way, so he wanted to protect you."

Hearing Fred's words, Gwen looked at Max for a moment, letting them sink in. Her perspective shifted slightly, understanding a bit more about the man she thought she knew so well.

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