The Hanging Ten Saga by The Writer With No Name is a Crossover Fan Fiction between Ben 10 and Stōked, set in an alternate version of Season 1 of Stōked where Ben, fresh off the Highbreed mess at the end of Alien Force Season 2, comes to work at Surfer's Paradise for the summer. Originally only here on Grandpa Max's recommendation to take a break and save up for college, Ben starts getting closer to the other groms. But his troubles have followed him even here...
While the story starts off fairly close to "canon" Season 1 of Stōked, it gradually starts to diverge into full blown AU territory.
The story has expanded into story arcs:
- Hanging Ten
: As summer starts at Surfer's Paradise, a sixth grom joins, making friends with the groms, except for Lo, but as strange creatures start showing up, they begin to wonder: what is Ben Tennyson hiding? - Hanging Ten: It Came from Room 1313: Book 2 of the Hanging Ten Saga. With a new girlfriend at Sunset Beach, things are looking up for Ben... but when one of his most fearsome foes returns, it's up to him and his new crew to stop this ghostly menace.
- Hanging Ten: Witchy Woman: After weeks of being friend-zoned by Emma, Johnny finally decides to move on, but this decision couldn't have come at a worse time... as a not-so-charming guest arrives at Surfer's Paradise, intent on settling an old score.
- Hanging Ten: My Cyber Sweet 16: With her sweet sixteen just around the corner, Lo is officially stoked about her upcoming birthday-bash. Struggling to keep up with preparing for his girlfriend's party, Ben isn't quite as thrilled, especially when an old acquaintance drops by... with her pet.
The Hanging Ten Saga contains examples of:
- Accidental Pervert: In "Breaking the Rules", Ben as Grey Matter accidentally lands on Lo's back as she was getting a massage. When she sees him, she freaks out and kicks him.
- Adaptational Badass: Most of the Stōked characters, by dint of being willing to rush into battle with whatever weirdness comes a-knocking.
- Adaptation Origin Connection: In Penthouse of Horror, the zombie fishstick was animated purely by the soul of Fluffy the fish. In It Came from Room 1313, it's possessed at least partly by Ghostfreak.
- Almost Kiss: Ben and Lo almost have their first kiss together after their recent surf and growing ever closer, before it is interrupted by Reef and Fin's competitive moment. Another instance is after they thought to be stranded on a island, when once again Reef and Fin spoil the moment to tell them that they are just a few feet from the hotel.
- Alpha Bitch: Lo's rival Cecilia Stanhope.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Both Ben's and Lo's, especially for Lo after the incident in the kitchen.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: George for Lo of course.
- Arc Villain: The Forever Knights, Charmcaster, the Vreedle Brothers, and the potential villain they work for in My Cyber Sweet Sixteen, who has yet to be revealed. Vilgax will make an appearance in the final arc according to the author's FF.net account.
- Artistic License – Gun Safety: Averted. When Max takes out a large arsenal of Plumber weapons, the Groms (and George) excitedly try to take some of them, but Max won't allow it because none of them have weapons training of any kind. Only Mr. Ridgemount (who's ex-military) and Ben's crew (who have experience) are allowed to use them.
- Aura Vision: The Kahuna seems to have the ability to read people's auras. The first time this is shown is when he shakes Ben's hand and senses many auras, which he is unaware represents each of Ben's alien forms. He does it again with Charmcaster in Book 3—and instantly deduces that she's up to no good.
- Bad Boss: Andrew Baumer, also known as "Bummer". Aside from the stuff from canon, he has it out for Ben since day one, mainly because he got hired by Mr. Ridgemount without him knowing due to having a friendship with his grandfather. He can't fire him for not liking him, so he has to go by the rules.
- Bad Job, Worse Uniform: Ben feels this way about the uniforms, particularly the gold and purple color scheme.
- Big Brother Instinct:
- In Hanging Ten, Ty is not happy when he learns Kelly tried to pour hot cooking oil on his younger sister Lo as part of her initiation. He's also grateful to Ben for intervening and stopping her that he personally threatens to go to his father and have him blackball Kelly if she tries to get him fired. Later, Ben becomes afraid Ty might get overprotective when he learns that Ben's dating his sister.
- This comes true in It Came from Room 1313, where it results in Ty being a bit frosty about Ben and Lo dating. When Lo complains about this to Fin, an eavesdropping Johnny chimes in and admits that, if it were his sister, he'd act the same way, and clarifies that it's coming from a place of love.
- When Gwen finds out Lo broke up with Ben because he kept his superhero life a secret, she is pissed and proceeds to rip Lo a new one.
- In Hanging Ten, Ty is not happy when he learns Kelly tried to pour hot cooking oil on his younger sister Lo as part of her initiation. He's also grateful to Ben for intervening and stopping her that he personally threatens to go to his father and have him blackball Kelly if she tries to get him fired. Later, Ben becomes afraid Ty might get overprotective when he learns that Ben's dating his sister.
- Brain Bleach:
- Best need a lot when Lo and Ben walk into the Penthouse to talk to her parents, only to find them in the kitchen... naked. If it wasn't bad enough, Lo discovers a very embarrassing secret about the kitchen table and prefers not to find out where else her parents have been doing It in their home.
- Lo is likewise horrified when she overhears some old ladies going ga-ga over Max.
- Bratty Half-Pint: The Marvin Twins and George Ridgemount, Lo's little brother. The latter keeps pestering Ben to transform for the heck of it, to the latter's annoyance.
- Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario: After finding out about Ben's secret of turning into alien heroes, Lo freaks out, traumatized by the ordeal with the Forever Knights, gets into an argument with Ben before breaking up with him. Realizing her mistake and how much she still has feelings for him, she chases after him as he’s about to leave Sunset Beach and asks to be given a second chance. They rekindle their relationship.
- Casanova Wannabe: Reef.
- Cerebus Syndrome: Each story focuses mostly on Teen Drama usually Played for Laughs until the third act, whereupon things get really intense.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Lo becomes this towards Julie Yamamoto, who happens to be Ben's ex-girlfriend.
- Continuity Nod: As his takes place after the second season of Alien Force, there's a lot of references to not only the show but also events from the original Ben 10:
- Emma recalls the events of the episode "The Return"; when she was 10 years old, she, her family, and the entire neighborhood experienced a short memory blackout. Broseph even remembers about being told it was a gas leak. It was all the official cover story for the effects of the Corrodium after it mutated the entire human race into mutants for a very brief moment.
- Dangerous 16th Birthday: The events ofMy Cyber Sweet Sixteen take place around Lo's Sweet 16.
- Dating What Daddy Hates: Or in this case, dating what cousin hates. Gwen heard about Lo's party causing a disaster at the hotel and dislike her ever since, unable to believe that Ben is dating her.
- Death Is Cheap: Discussed briefly in It Came From Room 1313. Bellicus believes that death is "not to be undone by one being's decision"; when he learns that Ghostfreak has come back not once but twice, he's furious.
- Everyone Has Standards: In Hanging Ten, most of the senior staff pull humiliating pranks on the groms as part of their initiation without much remorse, but even they feel Kelly went too far when she tried to pour hot cooking oil on Lo (only failing due to Ben's intervention).
- Erudite Stoner: Kahuna.
- Fangirl: Gwen is one to Fin.
- The Ghost: Lo's ex-boyfriend, Hunter Markham, who is mentioned a few times. According to some, he was not so pleasant, especially in that he wasn't faithful to Lo and even tried to force himself on her until he got caught by her brother, who used to be his bud.
- He Is Not My Boyfriend: Lo says this whenever everyone thinks she likes Ben or that she's jealous that he's dating her rival Cecilia.
- Heel–Face Turn: Johnny after being enchanted by Charmcaster to follow her commands.
- Heel Realisation: At first, Lo doesn't think that putting her relationship with Ben over his heroics could cause problems, especially as his mom Sandra asks her to make him stop out of worry for him, until she is held captive by Zs'Kay'r. No longer wanting to be selfish, she calls off her promise, which his mother accepts.
- I Call It "Vera": Max has his own surfboard he named Betsy. Broseph calls his board Camilla (in canon version, it was Angelina).
- I Warned You: In "Cheese and Crackers", Lo constantly warns Ben about dating Cecilia, but he ignores her. After he learns the truth and Lo shows up next to him, he expects her to rub it in, but she decides he's been through enough and says nothing.
- Jerkass to One: While Bummer is a jerkass to all the staff like in canon, he has a particular dislike towards Ben. Ben says he thinks it's because he got hired outside of Bummer's "proper channels", having been personally hired by Mr. Ridgemont because Ridgemont and Ben's Grandpa Max are old friends.
- Lethal Chef: As Ben is familiar with his grandpa's cooking, which is known to be gross, but when he prepares a spiced sauce known as the Tex-Mex Chili, the concoction explodes. And the chili can still be very spicy even after hours of settling down.
- Like an Old Married Couple:
- Ben and Lo spend the first half of Hanging Ten sniping at each other before they begin to acknowledge their real feelings. Even Fin and Emma ignore many of Lo's denials of her feelings for Ben.
- Fin and Reef, just like in canon, to the point that when Max meets them, he initially thinks they are a couple, due to it reminding him of the arguments he and Verdona had.
- Make-Out Kids: Once Ben and Lo become a couple, they usually make out whenever they have free time, and while their friends don't mind the romance between them, the constant PDA sometimes makes their faces go green. By the pool, the staff House, Ty's hammock (to his disgust), even in a janitor's closet.
- Meet Cute: Ben and Lo's first meeting has them literally bumping into each other. Downplayed in that, due to still being pissed about being exiled from the penthouse, Lo snaps at Ben, which puts him off from her, so it takes until the latter half of Hanging Ten before they even realize they have feelings for each other.
- Ms. Fanservice: While most of the girls are usually in their bikinis due to the nature of the work, Lo once specifically displays a bikini to show off and impress Ben.
- My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Kahuna senses Ben's alien forms when he shakes his hand with the Omnitrix.
- Naïve Newcomer: Reef, Fin, and Emma to the Ridgemount Resort, Emma and Ben to surfing in general in the first story arc.
- Named by the Adaptation: As a result of the original Stōked show favoring Only One Name and No Full Name Given, the fanfic makes an effort to give many members of the cast actual names:
- Broseph's real name is Joseph Silas.
- Johnny's family name is revealed to be St. James, although this may not be the author's invention since there have apparently always been rumors of this name being canonical, with one source being IMDB.
- Lo's parents, only known as Mr. and Mrs. Ridgemount in the show, are now James and Gloria Ridgemount.
- Captain Ron's last name is Stanhope.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In addition to accidentally raising Fluffy as a zombie fishstick like in canon, Kahuna's spell also resurrects Zs'kay'r, also known as Ghostfreak, to exact his revenge on Ben and cause havoc to the hotel.
- Oh, Crap!: Ben freaking out big time after Mr. Ridgemount finds him and Lo making out in the closet. Even Ripper goes pale after he hears the news and thinks Ben is doomed.
- Official Couple: Ben and Lo eventually. Gwen and Kevin even before the story starts.
- Original Character:
- A few have been introduced as the canon characters' relatives, such Johnny's baby sister and mother, Lo's cheerleader friends, and her grandmother.
- Captain Ron is mentioned in the original show to have two children, but they never appear onscreen. This fic has them appear under the names Jerry and Cecilia.
- Ouija Board: The teens discover a Ouija Board in Room 1313. They think it would be fun to contact the ghosts of the deceased newly wedded couple, but instead they make contact with something much worse...
- Papa Wolf: James Ridgemount when he is concerned over Lo's twisted ankle, even further when his daughter is possessed by Ghostfreak and willing to fight the zombie-ghosts to save her.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: During the climax of Hanging Ten, Lo breaks up with Ben because she feels she can't trust him since he kept his superhero life a secret and only revealed it because he needed to save both her and her friends from the Forever Knights. When Gwen finds out, she is pissed and rips Lo a new one. She furiously points out to Lo that if she honestly thinks she's entitled to all of Ben's secrets, then she's nothing more than a Spoiled Brat; Ben doesn't owe her anything because he has saved the world multiple times by facing life-threatening situation after life-threatening situation. This manages to get through to Lo and she leaves to patch things up with Ben.
- Right Behind You: In "Cheese and Crackers", Ben is standing behind Cecilia when she insults him for ditching her (because he spotted a robbery) by calling his jacket ugly.
- Romantic False Lead: Ty to Emma.
- Running Gag: The high pitched squeal that could make ears bleed, often by Lo when something good happens and twice surprisingly by Gwen, who is actually a fan of Fin McCloud.
- Secret Chaser: Upon encountering Humungousaur in "Kickin' It Old School", Fin decides to find out why these monsters keep popping up.
- Secret Identity: Like in canon, Ben makes it an point to ensure he isn't linked to the various alien heroes that start popping up.
- Secret-Keeper: As of this writing, the list of people who know Ben's secret are the Groms, Lo's family, and Kahuna.
- Shipper on Deck: Emma and Fin constantly ship Lo and Ben despite their rough start of meeting each other. In Witchy Woman, Lo and Fin try to work it with Emma and Johnny as a couple until Ben makes it clear to her they should work it out themselves. Doesn’t mean they don't try to ship Reef and Fin a few times.
- Straw Misogynist: Once again, Reef, who continuously ticks Fin off with his insistence that girls can't be equals to men in surfing or similar activities, despite the fact Fin's his equal (or superior) in pretty much every "guy thing" they end up competing in. Gwen doesn't take it well either.
- Tagalong Kid: George in the third act of It Came from Room 1313, due to being too young to carry a weapon but also in need of constant supervision for his own safety.
