Hex and Charmcaster stand before the Tennyson family, Gwen generating two pink mana disks in her hands.
Gwen: "Stay back!" Her hands are a little shaky. "Don't move a muscle!"
Charmcaster: "Oh, please!" She laughs. "You're strong, but not strong enough to beat the two of us!"
Hex: "Now, my dear niece, it's time to finish our vengeance against the Tennyson family."
Hex's staff glows bright red, and Charmcaster's hands glow bright pink.
Charmcaster: "You know, we were going to do this in front of Ben before sending him down to Hell, but I guess my uncle got a little excited."
Hex: "She is right. But it matters not." He points the staff at the family. "Regardless, we tortured him to near death. We couldn't send him down to Hell already dead, could we?"
Hex cackles as the energy builds up in his staff and in Charmcaster's hands, before shooting out in two powerful blasts,
Gwen creates a mana barrier in front of herself, but it immediately begins to crack under the force of the attacks.
Grandpa Max: "Gwen! Focus on absorbing more mana into the barrier."
Gwen: "G-Got it!"
Gwen closes her eyes, and mana starts coming out to the grass and trees around them, reinforcing the mana barrier.
Hex: "Truly remarkable. Such a shame that your talent is being wasted."
The beams from Hex and Charmcaster intensify, putting more pressure on the barrier.
Sandra: "Is there anything we can do to help her?"
Carl: "I don't know." He turns to Grandpa Max. "How can we help her?"
Grandpa Max: "There's only one thing, and only I can do it." He takes out an advanced laser pistol. "And that's to provide her backup."
Grandpa Max points his weapon at the two sorcerers, preparing to fire the moment the barrier breaks.
However, something unexpected happens.
A massive red portal opens up adjacent to the two groups. It's intense, electricity arching off of the portal and onto the ground.
The sudden portal makes Hex and Charmcaster momentarily halt their attack. This sudden halt allows Gwen to dispel the barrier, falling to her knees in exhaustion.
Hex: "No." He grits his teeth, gripping his staff. "There's no way he made it out alive."
Charmcaster: "We left him on death's front door, and then sent him to hell for good measure!" She pulls at her hair. "T-This has to be unrelated!"
Carl: "It appears you forgot one glaring detail in your miraculous plan."
Hex, seething with anger, glares at the Tennysons.
Hex: "And what would that be?"
Sandra: "Our son is far too stubborn to quit under any circumstance."
The portal suddenly grows more intense, and a figure can be seen coming out of the portal. A foot comes out of the portal, followed by the rest of the body, revealing Ben.
Ben: "Ah, glad to be back up here." The portal closes behind him. "It was way too hot down there for my liking. Though, I gotta say, the locals are pretty nice once you get to know them."
Gwen: "Wait..." She pants, standing up with Sandra's help. "You....made friends....with demons?"
Carl: "And just disappeared about a minute ago. How did you get back so quickly?"
Ben: "Yes to the first question, and there's some sort of time dilation that allowed me to come back shortly after I left." He turns his gaze to Hex and Charmcaster. "Anyway, glad to see you two again."
Both Hex and Charmcaster look at Ben with pure anger on their faces.
Ben: "And I can tell you're not happy to see me." He chuckles. "Hey, Gwen? You wanna help me kick their butts?"
Gwen: "Do you even have to ask?"
Ben walks over and stands next to Gwen.
Ben: "Mom, dad, grandpa. I'd suggest you all leave."
Ben holds up his left arm, showing the Omnitrix to everyone there, shocking them all and frightening the villains.
Ben: "One of my new friends retrieved this for me, so you guys can go home."
Carl, Sandra, and Grandpa Max look at one another, before silently agreeing with Ben.
Carl: "Alright, but stay safe."
Grandpa Max: "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Sandra: "Give them hell!"
The three leave, which leaves Ben and Gwen with the sorcerers.
Ben: "You wanna Charmcaster? Cause I'll take Hex."
Gwen: "Gladly will." She charges mana balls in her hands. "You sure you're ready for all of this again?"
Ben: "Not like I have much of a choice." He primes the Omnitrix, cycling through the selection. "Besides, we both know I would've come back to this sooner or later. Better sooner, in my opinion."
Ben slams down the Omnitrix, transforming into the fiery alien we all love.
Heatblast's body suddenly blazes up, a pillar of fire rising into the air, before retracting into Heatblast.
Heatblast: "Man, it feels good to be back." He looks down at his legs. "Huh. I guess I have pants now."
Hex blasts a beam of fire at Gwen. Heatblast then outstretches his arm, absorbing the fire easily.
Heatblast: "Nice cheap shot! Wanna try again?"
Hex growls, before suddenly flying toward Heatblast. Heatblast then does the same, and the two start clashing against each other in the air.
Hex: "Why couldn't you just DIE!"
Hex sends out a barrage of red knives, which Heatblast avoids by weaving in the air. He then grabs the handle of the last one before it could hit him.
Heatblast: "As my mom said: I'm too stubborn for my own good."
Hex shoots a blast of red energy from his staff, and Heatblast shoots a beam of fire right back. The two attacks clash against each other, a ball of orange energy forming between the two.
Back on the ground, Gwen and Charmcaster are at each other's throats.
Gwen is currently relying on her martial arts skills, throwing several punches and kicks at Charmcaster's golems.
Gwen: "Is this the best you got?" She kicks another golem to the ground. "I could do this all day!"
Charmcaster: "Then let's test that theory!"
Charmcaster summons pink energy spears, all pointed at Gwen, before sending them at her.
Gwen puts up a mana barrier, the spears piercing but not breaking the barrier.
Charmsster makes another, larger spear, which is able to shatter the mana barrier. Luckily Gwen is able to roll out of the way of the spear.
In a single motion, Gwen waves her arms around, gathering up the shattered barrier pieces before hurtling them toward Charmcaster.
Not given much warning, a couple of large shards pierce Charmcaster's skin. Unfortunately, she is able to put up a barrier to protect her from anymore shards.
Charmcaster: "You fucking brat!"
In the air, the two have been building up the energy ball to large proportions.
Heatblast suddenly stops blasting fire, allowing Hex to blast the energy ball at the Pyronite. Heatblast barrel-rolls out of the way, throwing a punch at Hex.
Hex puts up a barrier, blocking the punch. But Heatblast continues his assault, forcing Hex onto the defensive. Each punch makes crack in the barrier, which Hex tries to fix. But he's starting to get overwhelmed.
Heatblast: "What's the matter!?" He starts punching faster. "Not liking being the weak one!?"
After a final punch, Heatblast shatters through the barrier, opening his hand in front of Hex. The hand glows, before generating a powerful explosion that sends Hex down to the ground at a high speed, crashing through a tree before hitting the ground.
Heatblast: "Yikes. Might've overdone that."
Back on the ground, Charmcaster and Gwen are going at it.
Gwen is attempting to hit Charmcaster with mana whips, and Charmcaster uses her golems as shields while also attacking back with explosive balls of pink energy.
Charmcaster: "How have you gotten so strong!?" She dodges a mana whip, sending a few golems at Gwen. "You weren't nearly this strong last time!"
Gwen: "I've been practicing! A lot!"
Gwen uses mana discs to slice the golems in half, before absorbing a large amount of mana from them. She then makes a large pink energy ball, launching it at Charmcaster.
Charmcaster ducks down, narrowly avoiding the attack. She stands back up, looking behind her, before smirking at Gwen.
Gwen only smirks back as the energy ball stops, before going back. Seeing the smirk, Charmcaster turns around and puts up a shield. But the energy ball smashes through it, hitting Charmcaster in the chest.
Charmcaster is launched at Gwen, who clotheslines the sorceress, making Charmcaster the ground hard. The villain wheezes, out of breath.
Gwen: "Haven't you been practicing?"
Gwen kicks Charmcaster in the head, rendering her unconscious.
Heatblast lands next to Gwen, looking down at Charmcaster.
Heatblast: "Looks like you're officially better than her now."
Gwen: "Yeah, it seems so." She crouches down, beginning to loot Charmcaster. "I'm gonna steal her magic stuff. Could you take some stuff off of Hex when you're done?"
Heatblast: "Got it!" The ground begins to shake. "Oh, great."
A giant, made of energy and resembling Hex, rises from the forest. It stomps its feet a couple of times, before roaring at the heroes.
Heatblast: "Don't worry, I'll get him."
Gwen: "I figured you would."
Heatblast sighs, before flying up towards the giant.
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In Hell
The demons, and Azazel, are currently watching the action unfold in the human realm through the gate.
Zdrada: "Gotta say, he's pretty good at fighting despite not doing it for over a year."
Monica: "Indeed. He seems to be quite the natural at fighting with his alien forms."
Cerberus: "I wanna see him tear the old guy apart!"
Azazel: "He likely won't, Cerberus." She doesn't take her eyes off of the gate, writing down a lot. "He's only killed someone once, and that was by complete accident."
Malina: "But as my sister said, he's been out of the fight for a long time. Perhaps the way he thinks changed, and he may decide to kill them."
Justice: "Eh, I don't think so." She has her arm draped around Judgement's shoulder. "The kid's way too noble to do something like that."
Judgement: "I agree with Justice! Ben's memories showed all of us that, and I doubt he could change so much in only a year!"
Modeus stares at Heatblast intently, breathing quite heavily while whispering to herself.
Modeus: "I bet it would feel so good inside of me~."
Monica: "Dismissing what Modeus just said, let's continue to observe how Ben deals with his enemies."
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In The Human World
Heatblast flies high above the giant, which is trying to swat him away like a fly.
Heatblast: "Alright, let's think here. What can I do to take this thing down?"
The giant holds its hand out, and a large barrage of sharp projectiles are sent at Heatblast.
Heatblast: "Okay, deal with this first, then the plan."
Heatblast forms two small fire blades in his hands, using them to deflect the projectiles.
Heatblast: "Is that really the best you have to offer!?"
Red glyph appear around the giant, shooting out torrents of water at Heatblast.
Heatblast: "My big mouth."
Heatblast evades the torrents of water the best he can, but he gets hit by one. This leads the others to hit him as well, sending him to the ground.
The water stops, leaving an extinguished and exhausted Heatblast on the ground.
Heatblast: "Oh, man." He sits up, his head blazing up. "Guess that's what he has to offer."
Heatblast flies back up into the air, continuing to dodge any swipes from the giant.
Heatblast makes two fire blades, throwing them at the giant. The blades hit the giant, lodging into it, before exploding, making a smoke cloud.
When the smoke clears, it shows that two large sections were blown off of the giant, before slowly regenerating.
Heatblast: "Interesting. That could work." He dodges another swipe, throwing a fireball in the giant's face, disorienting it. "But I'm gonna need a lot of fire for this to work."
Heatblast starts circling around the giant, shooting out fire at the ground. The forest begins to catch ablaze, and a tornado of fire begins to form.
Heatblast: "Getting some major deja vu right now."
The giant attempts to hit Heatblast again and again, but Heatblast is flying too fast. The tornado gets so high, its right reaches well up into the sky, people being able to see it from miles away.
Giant: "Stop moving, pest!"
Heatblast: "Sure thing!"
Heatblast flies up above the raging tornado, but the fire seems to follow him at the same time.
Heatblast hovers in the air, outstretching his hands, absorbing all the fire. His body becomes a tad unstable, Heatblast's flames fluctuating in intensity.
However, Heatblast is able to hold out and puts his hand up, forming a fire construct in the shape of a massive spear.
Gwen looks up in the air, seeing the giant construct, and sighs.
Gwen: "A bit rusty, huh?" She chuckles. "Give him hell."
Heatblast throws the massive spear at the giant, it going down towards it at high speeds. The giant crosses its arms, a shield forming in front of it.
Despite the protection, the spear shatters through the shield, the giant's arms, and enters the chest of the giant.
The giant looks down at the spear, which is glowing brighter and brighter, before looking up at Heatblast.
Heatblast smirks, giving a finger salute.
The spear suddenly makes a giant explosion, making a massive smoke cloud.
After about a minute, the smoke cloud clears, revealing a burnt and beaten Hex laying on the ground. His staff is laying on the ground next to him, just out of reach.
Heatblast lands in front of Hex, hitting the Omnitrix and reverting back into his human form.
Ben: "Man, I can't tell if you got weaker, or if I just got stronger." He walks over to Hex, picking up the staff. "I'm sure Gwen would love this."
Gwen: "I would, actually."
Gwen walks over and takes the staff from Ben, while also carrying Charmcaster's bag and a book.
Ben: "Everyone must've seen the explosion. It won't take long for the cops to get here."
Sirens can be heard in the distance, confirming Ben's observation.
Gwen: "So, care to explain to me what happened when you were in Hell?"
Ben: "It's not a very long story, but we should head home and explain to everybody."
Gwen: "Fair enough." She makes a large mana disk appear on the ground. "We'll fly there. I'm sure you need the rest."
Ben: "I don't need any rest." He steps onto the disk. "But I'll be nice and accept your offer."
Gwen rolls her eyes before stepping onto the disk, making it fly into the air and in the direction of home.
=============================================================================================
After a while, Gwen and Ben land in Ben's backyard, the mana disk disappearing shortly after.
Gwen: "So you're going to return to the hero thing now?"
Ben: "Yeah, I think so." He approaches the sliding door. "When one bad guy returns, the rest usually follow."
Ben opens the sliding door, letting Gwen go inside first, before entering the house.
Ben is instantly pounced on by Rex, who licks all over his face.
Ben: 'If the girls are watching this, Cerberus is certainly getting jealous.' He pushes Rex off of him. "Alright, alright! Get down, Rex."
Rex whimpers, but complies with Ben and sits down on the floor.
Sandra, Carl, and Grandpa Max enter the room, all three crowding around Ben.
Sandra: "Oh my god! Are you alright, sweetie!?"
Carl: "Are you hurt!?"
Grandpa Max: "How did you get out of Hell?"
Ben: "Please, back off for a moment, please!"
Carl, Sandra, and Grandpa Max back away from Ben, allowing him to breathe.
Ben: "Just....just wait in the living room. I'll explain in there."
The three begrudgingly agree and go into the living room, accompanied by Gwen.
After a few moments of waiting in the living room, Ben returns in his upgrade form. He is carrying a tray of with eleven mugs and a coffee maker.
Sandra: "Uh, sweetie? Why are you carrying our coffee maker?"
Upgrade: "I promised one of the demons some coffee. I may as well make enough for each of them."
Upgrade sets down the tray of mugs, and then merges with the coffee maker while making it larger, before sitting down in a chair.
Upgrade: "Now, I'm going to explain everything while I prepare the coffee."
Carl: "Alright. Then explain away, Ben."
Upgrade sighs, preparing the coffee as he begins to explain what happened down in Hell.
That's the end of the chapter. See you in the next one!