Ben's Glyphs Chapter 1 (Patreon)

Ben 10 parody: Tier 1/Bad Day

AN: Both inspired by the Owl House Finale and trying to get my flow going, please enjoy as I work to bounce back

Ben’s Glyphs
Ben is an anodite, after encountering the Charms of Bezel, Ben gets the idea of crafting his own. For an anodite like himself magic was just a language to understand and figure out. Bezel’s charms were in his language which could be used by magic wielders, so Ben made his glyphs for his words.

Chapter 1

Ben thought this was gonna be the worst summer ever.  Not only was he going on a trip with his grandpa, and his annoying cousin Gwen was coming along. To make matters worse while he slept Gwen found a strange alien device that stuck itself upon her wrist and was able to turn her into 10 different aliens.

She decided to use these powers for good, tapping into her own power fantasy. Plus she just loved lording it over Ben, who always wanted to become a hero.

Ben felt he lost his chance. They came across a magic user called Hex. He was using the Charms of Bezel. In the midst of combat he lost one and it fell into Ben’s possession. He had the charm of luck, one of five charms created by the master magician Bezel.

For a time it made Ben the master of luck, so long as he had it everything went his way. He used this power to become a hero, he had a mask he’d been saving, he had a “demon” mask. Ben thought it was a demon but it was an abstract rabbit mask. He wore a black tank top, baggy black pants, and sturdy boots, and so Lucky Boy was born.

Gwen was being driven nuts by the new hero in the family.

Hex came back and tried to take the charm back, he needed all five charms and a spell from a book to unlock ultimate power.

Max, Gwen, and Ben defeated Hex. “If I take these, I can fly, control fire, conjure lighting, I’d be invincible…” If he kept these charms, Hex would keep coming after him and continue to try and unlock Ultimate Power! “Or, I can just be me!”

The charms were destroyed.

While the charms were gone the experience never left Ben and he began to try and figure out anything and everything he could about magic. Grandpa Max liked magic, and taught Ben some parlor tricks. “Bezel made the charms and each of them were their own unique symbol, maybe I could make something similar!”

The way Hex used the charms it was like he was able to cast different incantations with the charm alone. “Maybe these symbols aren’t random, it could be a language. Hex was able to do all that crazy stuff because he was able to understand the language.” Ben was able to redraw the charms. ‘Maybe…I don’t need to understand Bezel’s language, I can craft my own.’

He remembered a time in pre-school where a friend and him made up their own language so they could communicate in secret. Even some of the magic spells Ben could find were in a weird language. He didn’t know it yet but it was the language of Ledgerdomain. Secrets from that world tended to leak out.

If Magic was real, why couldn’t more people use it?

As Ben thought about it. ‘Maybe magic itself is a language, and as it’s translated it loses it’s punch.’ He remembered seeing an anime online that was translated from Japanese to Chinese, and then Chinese to English, so the subtitles didn’t make a lick of sense.

What Ben didn’t know was that he was quite right. He was an energy being called an anodite, and for them magic indeed was just a language. Something they just understood as naturally as breathing. Since Ben didn’t know this and had no formal anodite training he was figuring all this out by instinct, and he had very good instincts.

Through a lot of trial and error Ben managed to create his first glyph. He wasn’t even sure how he did it, he had stayed up so late trying to figure it out, but there it was his first glyph.

It absorbed the mana and the paper it was drawn on and it was converted into a ball of light. Something so simple, but it was his. Gwen didn’t see the point, but Max knew this was the start of something big.

Summer marched on, and the Tennyson’s had plenty to deal with. Ben made a friend named Kevin who was a little wild and crazy, but the two had sparks. He was too crazy in Gwen’s opinion, and she was right, technically.

Kevin was absorbing energy which made him mad, when he felt Gwen was coming in between Ben and him he lashed out, trying to get rid of her, and the two clashed. Levin got his hands on the omnitrix and absorbed the alien DNA it contained.

One of Gwen’s aliens went crazy and escaped the omnitrix, causing all sorts of trouble. Ghost Freak as Gwen/Ben called them was an odd transformation, when Gwen used it she always said it didn’t feel right, sure enough. Zs’Skayr wanted power, and had tried to get his hands on the omnitrix from the inside. He gave up his DNA for the watch planning to take over whoever tried to wield it.

Something went wrong and his consciousness and form was trapped inside it. Now that he was out he tried to take over Ben and Gwen to get the power. Thankfully Ben’s Light Glyph was a natural repellent, light was deadly for Ectonurite’s like Zs’Skayr. They were able to put him down but Ghost Freak was gone.

Another big bad after the watch was Vilgax. He forced Max to reveal the truth about his life as a Plumber. Vilgax saw the watch as the ultimate weapon, and by wielding it he could rule over the entire galaxy. Max had defeated him once, but he was back.

He should have learned his lesson, don’t mess with the Tennysons. Max blew up his ship, Ben used his new Ice Glyph he had been working on to freeze him, and Gwen blasted him into space. Vilgax had messed with Gwen’s watch, allowing her to gain a new alien in the process.

-x-

Ben currently had two glyphs, light and ice, but it felt enough to bring Lucky Boy back and be a hero along side Gwen. His tricks were actually pretty handy. The anodite added a glove to his costume, with the ice glyph in the palm and the light glyph on the back.

By using his mana to power the glyph he could use Light and Ice magic, through the mana he could tell the glyph what he wanted to happen and if it was in it’s power it’d be done.

-x-

Kevin was using his new absorbed alien powers to be a hero and make some cash. This activity did cause a stir bringing Lieutenant Steel and SECT into play. Special Extraterrestrial Containment Team was a dark-ops group that identified and captured alien life forms and brought them to Area 51. (This was illegal under interstellar law)

Despite doing good Kevin was seen as a threat by SECT and Steel. Gwen misjudged the situation and backed the wrong guys, pushing Kevin down a darker path. In his rage and frustration his powers went out of control and he mutated in amalgamation of Gwen’s aliens.

She became his target as he attacked her later, he blamed her for his current condition and he was right. Steel turned on Gwen just because she was an alien, and she couldn’t see the good Kevin was doing and his fighting of SECT was in self defense.

Had it not been for Ben Steel would have locked Gwen up too.

Being too proud to admit she was wrong, she didn’t, and fought with Kevin. The two would end up being taken by an alien gladiator games. Slix Vigma had been abducting powerful specimens across the galaxy and forced them to fight for entertainment.

Kevin’s powers were weirdly weak, but Gwen was able to figure out they were her powers just split up. He had to combine the powers to make them more effective. The two were forced to work together to survive. Slix Vigma was the enemy here and with the help of Technorg they took him down and took over the Megacruiser.

Gwen was allowed to escape, but Kevin remained feeling this place was where a monster like him belonged. “What about Ben?” The question made Kevin pause, but when he looked at himself in the reflection of some metal he became angry.

“Get out of my sight, I’ll never be a hero in his eyes.” The effect of the energy and the mutation made it hard for Kevin to think rationally. He forced her to leave and moved the ship to another galaxy.

‘Maybe...I was wrong about Kevin…’ She thought he was just another bad guy that needed to be smacked down, but maybe he needed help.

-x-

Hex came back with his niece Charmcaster. His plan was to get revenge on Lucky Boy and find the Key Stone of Bezel to restore the charms.

Ben was still working on his glyphs, creating one wasn’t easy. It was like coming up with a brand new word, he had to come up with the meaning, the context, and how it could be used. Hex called his glyphs runes, but Ben didn’t question it. Different languages had different words for things, even if it was the same thing they were talking about.

With the Key Stone the brunette felt super charged. It was said to amplify the holder’s abilities ten fold. The anodite was buzzing like he had 100 cups of coffee. So many thoughts and ideas were rushing through his mind. He was able to craft the Plant Glyph. It looked like a seed that had just begun to sprout and bloom. ‘All the power of nature exists in but a single tiny seed!’

Before he could fully utilize the Key Stone Charmcaster and Hex attacked and managed to steal it. Charmcaster had tricked Ben, and he let his guard down.

The ritual began and Hex used the Key Stone, to bring back the Charms of Bezel. Charmcaster betrayed her uncle to claim the power for herself. She was biding her time, as she wasn’t a master magician she couldn’t use her Uncle’s staff to enact the spell. “Soon I shall be all powerful!”

Ben faced her. “I wouldn’t count on that!” Ben put on a free glove and in the middle of the fight made the Fire Glyph.

Charmcaster watched him and laughed. “What do you think you are doing? Are you actually trying to create your own runes? That’s ridiculous only a true master could do such a thing.” Ben aimed the newly constructed glyph at her.

It looked like a candle flame made out of circles. He charged it with his mana and flames shot from his hand and blasted Charmcaster away. Ben used the Plant Glyph to summon vines and destroy the charms of bezel once more.

Ben broke Hex’s staff which caused the magic to be drained from the staff, the key stone, and the two magic users. It was drawn back to Ledgerdomain. The Key Stone was useless now, but it had stimulated Ben’s spark enough.

-x-

Kevin found Vilgax floating in space and freed him. Vilgax was a master manipulator and he was able to play off of Kevin’s madness. Gwen unlocked the Loop setting, she had her full playlist on loop so she could change into any of her aliens at will.

The two attacked the Tennysons. Kevin agreed to help Vilgax get the omnitrix as it’d remove Gwen as a block towards Ben. All he wanted was the watch so why not? This didn’t help Gwen’s opinion of Kevin, but Ben continued to try and reach out to him. “Kevin please don’t do this, Vilgax is evil, he’s a monster.”

Levin growled. “Like me?”

Ben cupped his cheeks. “No, not like you, you aren’t a monster Kevin, you never were!”

“All he wants is the watch.”

“If he gets the omnitrix, he’ll hurt so many people.”

“I won’t let him hurt you!” He meant it, but Ben wasn’t worried about himself. This was a bigger issue than Kevin realized.

Clashing with the Tennyson family spilled into the Null Void.

Vilgax almost got the watch, but Gwen turned off Loop mode so Vilgax couldn’t have it. “A trivial matter, I’ll have unlocked all the secrets of the omnitrix soon enough. I’ll have Master Control in a few days.”

Max and Ben saved Gwen. “Enough!” Vilgax grabbed Ben and held him towards the Null Void. “Hand over the omnitrix wielder or this one dies.”

“Let him go!” Kevin roared.

Vilgax glared at him. “Pitiful fool, don’t dare challenge me, or you will suffer.” He turned his gaze off Kevin, feeling his threat was enough to put the mutation in his place. “Surrender child, unless you think your cousin can survive in the Null Void alone!”

To bad for Vilgax, Kevin cared more about Ben then he feared the tyrant. He charged at Vilgax and rescued him, getting him to safety as he fought with the powerful alien. The two ended up falling into the Null Void portal. “Kevin!”

Ben unleashed a plant vine and tried to save him. Vilgax caught him by the leg. “I will not lose to the likes of you!”

Kevin looked back, he couldn’t shake the alien off. “Benji...thanks for believing in me!” He used Heatblast fire, to destroy the vine and the two fell into the void.

The Null Void projector overheated and became damaged. “We gotta help him!”

Max patted his shoulder. “I’m sorry Ben, but there’s nothing we can do.”

Gwen trying to rationalize this, claiming Kevin did help Vilgax. He had become a criminal. They didn’t know it yet, but while in space Kevin had done other things to get a record. Even if Max went to the Plumbers Kevin would have ended up in the Null Void for his crimes and the danger he posed.

-x-

As their summer trip continued, Gwen gained more aliens thanks to the Yellow Setting/DNA Capture feature.

Charmcaster came back, trying to take Ben’s secrets and harness Gwen’s aliens to increase her power. She tried to recreate Ben’s glyphs but they backfired on her. “Ugh what am I doing wrong, work blast you!” She tried an Ice Glyph only for it to burst and nearly skewer her, the Fire Glyph blew up in her face, the Light Glyph didn’t do anything at all, and the Plant Glyph just made weeds and rotting/foul smelling plants.

In this situation Charmcaster was basically screaming at someone who didn’t speak her language. As if being louder would make it understand. The more aggressive she got with the glyphs the more they rejected her.

She attacked Ben with Rock Creatures, and coming in contact with them caused Ben’s spark to react. The image of a new glyph appeared to him, it was an hour glass figure with a heart in the hour glass, a circle for the head with the infinity symbol for eyes, and it had two triangles for arms. This was the Golem Glypgh, using this Ben was able to create his own rock creatures. Instead of pink mana they were charged with green mana.

Once they were made they could shrink down into little totems Ben could call out as needed. It was ironic, Charmcaster tried to steal Ben’s secrets and Gwen’s power, and ended up getting her stuff taken. Tennyson got her magic bag, he nicknamed Buttons. He did take Charmcaster’s spell book but mostly so it’d be out of her hands, he couldn’t read it.

Buttons stored his paper glyphs and his totems. Ben even put his notebook into Buttons so it couldn’t be stolen. He had notes on his glyphs and experimental ideas in there, they were incomplete but he didn’t want to risk Charmcaster or Hex to figure out on how to complete them.

A clash with a weather monster allowed Ben to tap into the Water, Wind, and Lightning Glyph. The Water Gylph has a cloud symbol at the top with a water droplet with wave symbols at the bottom. It embodied the cycle of water, from sea to sky, an eternal cycle.

The Lightning Glyph had a huge bolt in the center with two round clouds at each side of the bolt. The Wind Glyph had three air spirals curling against each other. It embodied air currents, and the center of a twister or the eye of the storm.

By combining the three Ben was able to use Storm Magic, which he used to combat the weather monster. It was his very first glyph combination but it really saved their bacon.

-x-

Zs’Skayr came back with a crew from Anur Transyl, Gwen unlocked their alien forms, but the ghost alien nearly plunged the Earth into total darkness. He planned to make the Earth a new home for aliens of the night.

Ben tapped into the Darkness Glyph, weirdly enough it looked like a black sun. A black spot in the center, with five comma marks around it. It embodied a dead star, a black hole of darkness that sucked everything up. He could use the darkness like a smoke screen.

They stopped Zs’skayr, but since they had beaten him before they didn’t think he was gone for good. He had managed to escape, he was badly weakened from getting some face to face time with the sun, but he’d recover his strength and come back.

Ben’s last glyph came from his future self. He had all kinds of glyphs on his person, but they were blurred to Ben’s eyes. “Spoilers!” It was still amazing to know he’d be one day strong enough to open a portal through time.

He was given one glyph, Teleportation Glyph, it had squares on the north and south of the circle, each one having a ring on top, there was a dot at the center of each ring and in the center of the circle. It represented an object passing between two gates, teleporting between them.

-x-

Ben and Gwen had their enemies, rogues who disliked them individually, but one they shared. Forever Knights, a group of different factions, many disliked aliens, but other factions disliked magic viewing it as witchcraft and evil.

One of the factions gathered their rogues gallery creating a united front of evil to try and destroy the Tennysons. Driscoll’s plan was quite effective, he’s been keeping track of their exploits for awhile, so he found bad guys they had defeated and sent to prison and played off their desire for revenge.

They had help to face this Negative 10.

Cooper Daniels, he was the grandson of one of Max’s plumber friends, he had powers of his own, he was a Technopath. He could mentally merge with and control electronic devices. Mentally he can disassemble and reassemble any form of technology be it earth or alien, and can even interface with technology and communicate with machines.

He had a huge crush on Ben, and they shared a lot of nerdy interests. With Cooper’s help they defeated the Negative 10 and Sir Driscoll.

Summer ended and things went back to normal...mostly…

To be continued...Ghosts in the Suburbs