Awakening of the Omnitrix

Breakfast

Pulling his phone over to him, Ben went into his voicemails and found the last from Max.  "Hey kiddo, I know I'm probably the last person you want to talk to, but I'm worried about you.  I shouldn't have been so hard on you.  It's just, I don't want something happening to you is all.  What I said, it came out harsher than I intended.  I know you want to feel like you're doing something to help people, but being a part of the Plumbers, Ben... in your condition, instructor or not, that puts you in danger.  All it takes is one criminal to come through and see you, without the Omnitrix, and they'll try to get a piece of you.  I love you kid, but your hero days, they're long behind you.  I just hope you understand that.  I want you to be happy, I want you to get to have a family; you can't get to have any of that if you're gone.  I love you Ben, and if you ever need me, I'll be here."

Ben wiped his eyes again, and put his phone away.  He hated feeling sorry for himself, he honestly did, and god was Ben not one to cry.  How much did he cry when he woke up from his coma and found himself in a never-ending nightmare?  Nevermind that, honestly, the past three days had been the happiest he'd been in a long time.

He finally felt like he was doing something important, Azmuth treated him like an equal, even if he did his usual degrading of his intelligence, but Ben felt like he belonged, and on the plus side, that kid seemed like he needed help.  Ben smiled, pulling out his wallet.  He had all his money for the time being transferred into the Ryo currency.  He was loaded here, which made a wicked smile form.

Being a hero, Ben knew was dangerous, but there were plenty ways of being a hero... hell, you could be a hero just for giving a kid a chance to feel like he was a part of a family.

Ben got up and made his decision.  Naruto Uzumaki was gonna start having a better life from today forward, regardless whether that council would try to stop him or not.

Today was officially the start of a brand new journey for the young shinobi as he opened his eyes.  Rolling over, he was able to see the Omnitrix strapped to his right wrist, and he couldn't help but smile lightly.  It was certainly a long night, and Naruto wouldn't be surprised if he had slept in longer than he meant to.  What would happen if he did?  After all he had nothing better to do right now.  Sitting up and stretching his arms, the events of the previous night came back to him, and his smile soured into a frown as he remembered the incident with the nine tails.

So, you weren't a figment of my imagination, right?  Naruto thought silently, and just like that he heard a low chuckle.

Of course not.  Morning to you too.

Sorry, just hard to imagine that we're able to just, you know, talk freely.

Don't think I'll chat anytime you want.  I can shut you out any time I want.

Oh yeah?

No response came, and Naruto rolled his eyes.  I can practically hear you turning your head away.

I wasn't.  There's a presence at your door.

Naruto couldn't imagine who would have been at his door, after all, nobody comes to visit him.  This was place was basically cursed in the eyes of the entire village.  Even the ANBU wouldn't come to his door.  Whenever he got to play with one of them when he was younger, they were never at his house, they were always at an old training ground far away from the villagers.  Naruto knew well enough that the ANBU, Konoha's black ops unit, weren't meant to play with a child, but the one in the dog mask, he always took the time to.  He didn't remember saying much to him, but Dog as he called him would take the time to play with him and just sit with him as the day went by.  It was a nice memory, but Naruto hadn't had anyone around like that in a long time.  The point was, nobody came to his house, ever.  In fact the only person who had been in his apartment was Ben.  Then it hit him, so he got dressed and walked to the door.  Just as he figured when he opened it he was greeted by the former Omnitrix user himself, holding a couple bags in hand.