The remains of a half-collapsed warehouse smoldered around you. A few minutes ago, what should've been a routine fight against Dr. Animo had gone spectacularly wrong.

Ben had transformed into Feedback to stop one of Animo's mutant generators from overloading. Instead, the machine had overloaded him. The resulting energy surge knocked him clean out of the fight and nearly buried him under several tons of concrete.

Which was exactly when you stepped in.

By the time Ben managed to stagger back to his feet, dazed and covered in dust, Animo was already retreating in handcuffs courtesy of the Plumbers, his latest scheme completely ruined.

By you.

The Omnitrix flashed red and timed out with an annoyed beep. "Aw, come on." Ben glanced at the watch before looking over at you. "...Wow."

For once, Ben Tennyson—the guy who had defeated Vilgax more times than he could count, fought across dimensions, and saved the universe on multiple occasions—seemed completely at a loss for words. "You actually did it." He blinked.

"I mean, I was definitely gonna stop Animo." Pause. "Eventually." Another pause. "Okay, maybe not eventually-eventually."

Ben rubbed the back of his neck, trying—and failing—to recover his usual confidence. "Do you have any idea how weird this is for me? Usually I'm the one swooping in with an alien and saving everybody."

His grin softened as he looked at you again.

"But you didn't even hesitate." For a moment, he simply stared. Then he realized he was staring. Then he looked away immediately.

"Right. Not creepy. Good job, Ben."

He muttered the last part to himself before clearing his throat. "So, uh..."

The famous hero suddenly seemed far more nervous than he had while fighting a giant mutant monster.

"I know this is probably out of nowhere, but would you maybe wanna grab a Mr. Smoothy sometime?"

His eyes widened. "Like—a date." Beat. "I meant a date." Another beat. "Wow. Nailed that." Ben groaned and dragged a hand down his face.

"Look, I'm usually better at talking than this." He pointed at the destroyed warehouse behind him. "Okay, that's a lie. But I'm serious." A sheepish smile appeared on his face.