Fanfic / Hero Time

Hero Time is a Ben 10 Self-Insert Fic/Series Fic written by gelefant.

"Hero Time" is a condensed retelling of the Classic Ben 10 Continuity, but with the author and his family in place of Ben and the other Tennysons.

A few days after his tenth birthday, Jermaine Carter stumbles across the Omnitrix while out on a camping trip with his family. With help from the Plumbers, he gradually grows into an alien superhero who protects Earth from a variety of threats.

Each chapter of "Hero Time" is a rewrite of many different episodes from across the Ben 10 franchise.

Artwork for the fanfic can be found here.

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Tropes found in this fanfic:

Tropes A to F

• Adaptation Expansion: Unlike in canon, every planet in the Anur System is visited and described in detail.
• Adapted Out: Because of the relatively short length and tighter focus on certain aspects, a good chunk of characters (both major and minor) from the canon classic continuity are absent (Animo, Kevin, the DNAliens, the Incurseans, the Tennysons, and Aggregor, just to name a few). The Ultimatrix is also not present.
• Alien Invasion: Two happen during the second half of "A Perfect Match." The first one was the Highbreed, and the second one was Vilgax.
• Back from the Dead: As in canon, this happens to Zs'Skayr in "Galactic Monsters." He's resurrected by Dr. Viktor.
• Battle Couple: Jermaine and Julie, thanks to Ship becoming battle armor for her as in canon. Unlike in canon, she's far more invested in fighting evil and saving the world, making her an actual (and invaluable) member of his team.
• Beam-O-War: As in canon, one happens between Zs'Skayr's psychic laser and Frankenstrike's electricity in "Galactic Monsters." Zs'Skayr wins.
• The Big Damn Kiss: Jermaine and Julie share their first kiss after the Highbreed invasion.
• Big "NO!":
  • As in canon, Vilgax lets one out in "Galactic Monsters" after the self-destruct launch begins while he's still aboard his ship.
  • Also as in canon, Zs'Skayr also lets one out after his transmitter is destroyed.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: As in canon, Michael Morningstar. On the surface, he's a heroic young man who's helpful and wants to aid Jermaine in his cause. However, Michael is in reality a power-hungry villain who wants Hope, not for her personality, but for her energy.
• Bounty Hunter: As in canon, Sixsix, Kraab and Tetrax are hired by Vilgax to bring him the Omnitrix in "Galactic Monsters."
• Brainwashed and Crazy: As in canon, Dr. Chadwick uses a control chip to order around the weaponized Ship in "A Perfect Match." He soon breaks out of it thanks to Julie.
• The Cavalry: The Nemuinas for Charmcaster, Jermaine, Julie, and the Plumbers at the end of "Dragons Versus Knights" when the Forever Knights have them and the alien dragons captured.
• Chekhov's Gun: As in canon, Ship gains the ability to turn into an actual ship in "A Perfect Match." This will become pretty useful later on as the heroes use him for space travel.

• The Determinator: Even though Darkstar is able to capture him, Jermaine as Frankenstrike takes the longest (between him and Julie) to go down due to just refusing to give up. Even when he's forced to transform back into a human, it still takes several more seconds for Jermaine to fall to his knees. Darkstar even compliments him on it.
• Died Happily Ever After: The ghost of Spellbinder, Charmcaster's father, peacefully departs for the afterlife once Addwaitya's been taken down in "The Magic Touch."
• Dragons Versus Knights: The aptly named "Dragons Versus Knights" features the Forever Knights invading the alien dragon homeworld, which was supposed to happen in canon but never came to be.
• "Eureka!" Moment: One that also doubles as an Oh, Crap! moment. In "Star Power," Jermaine realizes who the unidentified energy-draining attacker is when said attacker addresses him by his name.
• Even Evil Has Standards: While Dr. Viktor is loyal to Zs’Skayr, he’s clearly not happy with his master’s plan to resurrect Lord Transyl and the Vladat race, as they were tyrants over Transylians in the past. This is what ultimately leads him to betray them both and help Ben destroy the Vladat clones.
• Evil Makes You Ugly: Ever since his supply of "food" was cut off, Michael's need to feed has rendered him a sickly, ugly version of himself he now calls "Darkstar."
• Fate Worse than Death: As in canon, Viktor imprisons Lord Transyl in a containment unit, leaving him in orbit of the Anur System’s sun. Since sunlight can’t outright kill Vladats...let’s just say he’s in for a very painful existence.

• Frankenstein's Monster: As in canon, Dr. Viktor reveals himself to be an alien version of one in "Galactic Monsters." Frankenstrike also counts as one.
• From Zero to Hero: As in canon. Similar to Ben, the fanfic starts out with Jermaine as a regular ten-year-old boy with a normal life. Then, while going on a camping trip with his family, he finds the Omnitrix, a watch that can transform him into ten different superpowered aliens. From then on, he was no longer a normal kid with a boring life. Now, he's a hero who saves the world 24/7!

Tropes G to L

• Good Costume Switch: As in canon, Ship replaces his mind control-induced red color scheme with his normal green one after shaking off said mind control.
• Halloween Episode: A good chunk of "Galactic Monsters," the beginning of "Witches and Wizards," and pretty much all of "Horror Show."
• Heel–Face Turn: Charmcaster and Hex have one at the end of "Witches and Wizards." It's done in a fairly realistic way as it happens over the course of several months.
• Heel Realization: Charmcaster and Hex each have one during their months-long imprisonment at Plumber HQ that soon leads to their above-mentioned Heel–Face Turn.
• Hellish Horse: Night Mares, which are undead alien horses.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: As in canon, Dr. Chadwick had Ship brainwashed into serving the Forever Knights and then had it combine with a spaceship with a lot of weaponry in "A Perfect Match." Too bad he didn't count on Ship actually breaking from the brainwashing.
• Hour of Power: As in canon, Jermaine's alien transformations only last for about ten to fifteen minutes before the watch needs to be recharged. This is no longer a problem after the watch's Master Control is unlocked.
• Humble Hero: Jermaine adamantly refuses to let his victories go to his head and always acknowledges that he achieves them with help from others.
• Humongous Mecha: As in canon, Jermaine battles a giant drone not long after getting the Omnitrix.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: A variety, as in canon. The Highbreed act as though their "superiority" is reason enough to wipe out other civilizations, but Azmuth can see right through them. In reality, their inbreeding has lead to sterility and the inability to fight disease, and they're taking out other civilizations as a way to bitterly spite them.
• Internal Homage: As mentioned in the description, every chapter is a rewrite of multiple episodes from the Classic Continuity.
• Jumped at the Call: As with Ben in canon, Jermaine wastes no time declaring he'll use the Omnitrix for good.
• Living Statue: In "Witches and Wizards," one of Hex's spells animates a few cemetery statues.

Tropes M to R

• Mad Scientist: As in canon, Dr. Chadwick wants to turn Ship into a living weapon in "A Perfect Match."
• Monster Mash: The Anur System aliens are front and center in most chapters ("Galactic Monsters," "Team Spirit," and "Horror Show," in particular) since they're Jermaine's favorite ones to use, especially Ghostfreak. As mentioned above, every single planet in the Anur System is visited.
• Mummy: Snare-Oh and Kuphulu are alien mummies, as in canon.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
  • As in canon, Zs'Skayr sabotages himself by deliberately shedding his second skin in "Galactic Monsters."
  • As in canon, Dr. Viktor tries to kill Jermaine, causing Zs'Skayr to attack him in retaliation. This lets Jermaine escape as Snare-Oh in the confusion.
  • Viktor grabs Jermaine by the Omnitrix, unlocking Frankenstrike and thus giving Jermaine the exact form he needs to fight up in the space station.
• Nightmare Sequence: As in canon, Jermaine dreams about Zs'Skayr demanding to be set free in "Galactic Monsters."
• The Night That Never Ends: As in canon, Zs'Skayr's plan in "Galactic Monsters" is to create a corrodium energy shield around the sunlit side of Earth, blocking the sun and allowing him free rein over the planet. It also turns all the humans and animals into mutant monstrosities as a side effect.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Hope, Jermaine, and Julie all give one to Darkstar at the end of "Star Power."
• No Name Given: As in canon, the alien dragon's real name (if he even has one) is never revealed or spoken.
• Official Couple: Jermaine and Julie at the end of "A Perfect Match." Unlike Ben and Julie in canon, Jermaine and Julie manage to stay together through the timeframe of Ben 10: Omniverse.
• Oh, Crap!: At the end of "Star Power," Jermaine realizes Morningstar (later revealed to be going by the name of Darkstar) is behind the attacks when Morningstar addresses Ben by his name in the midst of energy-draining him.
• Our Dragons Are Different: The still-unnamed alien dragon and Jermaine's new form Dragonfire.
• Our Fairies Are Different: As in canon, Pesky Dust and other Nemuinas are alien fairies.
• Our Ghosts Are Different:
  • As in canon, Ghostfreak is an alien ghost. Zs'Skayr, Ghostfreak's source, is also a ghost alien.
  • Spellbinder's ghost appears twice to the characters during their journey through Legerdomain.
• Our Vampires Are Different: Vladats, as in canon. They feed on life energy rather than blood. They can spit out small objects called Corrupturas, which control the bodies of whoever they stick to against their will. While bright light is still very harmful to them, it doesn’t outright kill them.
• Our Werewolves Are Different: Blitzwolfer, Scout, and Crujo are all alien werewolves, as in canon.
• Our Zombies Are Different: Braindrain and other Ormerowons are alien zombies.
• Pokémon Speak: As in canon, Ship can only speak one word: "ship."
• Post-Victory Collapse: Jermaine experiences this after putting all his energy into defeating Darkstar at the end of "Star Power."
• Powered Armor: As in canon, Ship can become a set of battle armor for Julie.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: As in canon, Ship's color palette switches from black-and-green to black-and-red after Dr. Chadwick turns him into a living weapon.
• The Reveal: As in canon, Azmuth reveals the Omnitrix was built in the case of a species getting eradicated so it can be revived.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: As in canon, the alien dragon fully intends to go on one against the Forever Knights as punishment for his millennium-long imprisonment at their hands. Also as in canon, Jermaine convinces him to just return home as he desired.

Tropes S to W

• Secret Identity: Jermaine has one until after the Highbreed and Vilgaxian invasions.
• Self-Destruct Mechanism: In "Galactic Monsters," Jermaine as Ghostfreak sets Vilgax's ship to self-destruct without the latter knowing until it's too late.
• The Shadow Knows: As in canon, Jermaine's shadow appears as Zs'Skayr for a second in "Galactic Monsters."
• Shipper on Deck: Jermaine's sisters really want him and Julie to be together. As mentioned above, this does indeed happen, although we never see or hear about their reactions.
• The Starscream: As in canon, Charmcaster is initially this towards Hex in "Witches and Wizards," claiming she only needed him to perform the recreation ritual for her since he was a "master magician."
• Super Mode: As in canon, in the darkness of space, Zs'Skayr gets bigger, spikier, and reveals a Chest Blaster.
• Super-Toughness: As in canon, the alien dragon and the rest of his species is incredibly durable since it shrugged off a millennium's worth of execution attempts by the Forever Knights.
• Tactical Withdrawal: Before falling unconscious in "Star Power," Jermaine tells Hope to flee from their attacker as she's the only one who can sufficiently defend herself from their opponent's energy-draining powers. Thus, she's their best hope of rescue and getting out alive — as long as she's not captured.
• Taking You with Me: As in canon, this is at the core of the Highbreeds' motivation. They are in reality dying out from disease and sterility, and their genocide of other species is a bitter response to their own extinction.
• Transformation Trinket: As in canon, the Omnitrix allows the wearer to transform into different kinds of aliens.
• True Companions: Charmcaster, Jermaine, and Julie.
• The Unmasqued World: Thanks to the above-mentioned back-to-back invasions from the Highbreed and Vilgax, the entire world learns the truth about both aliens and Jermaine's Secret Identity.
• Valentine's Day Episode: Most of the beginning of “A Perfect Match” happens the day before Valentine's Day and on Valentine's Day itself.
• Weakened by the Light:
  • As in canon, sunlight is revealed to be fatal to Zs'Skayr after he sheds his second skin in "Galactic Monsters."
  • Vladats, also as in canon.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: As in canon, the original alien werewolf and mummy aren't seen or heard from again after the end of "Galactic Monsters."

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