Vilgax's Hunt for the Omnitrix Arc

Vilgax's Hunt for the Omnitrix is the first story arc of Ben 10. It revolves around the attempts of the galactic warlord Vilgax to steal the Omnitrix after its arrival on Earth, where it bonded itself with a young Ben Tennyson.
==Background==
Vilgax, a Chimera Sui Generis, is the main villain of the Ben 10 series and the archenemy of Ben Tennyson. He wants the Omnitrix from Ben so that he could create an army of aliens. However, the incident that inspired Vilgax to hunt for the Omnitrix was because of a time paradox. In the year 1773, Vilgax had been exiled from his homeworld Vilgaxia because of disobedience. His ship, the Chimeran Hammer, was summoned by a time traveling Chronosapien Maltruant's distress signal. Maltruant praised Vilgax and agreed that if Vilgax helped him fix his ship, he would give him a Chronosapien Time Bomb.
While time traveling, Ben and Rook, who were after Maltruant, were joined by George Washington. Together, they infiltrated the area where Vilgax was fixing Maltruant's ship. Ben had to avoid Vilgax from seeing him since he was from the future. Ben transformed into Mole-Stache and, along with George, battles Maltruant and Vilgax and was further assisted by Rook on the Time Cycles. After Maltruant's ship was fixed, he went further back in time. As Vilgax escaped, he witnessed Ben transforming into another alien and vowed to get the transforming device for himself.
==Ben 10==
===And Then There Were 10===
It all started one day when Ben Tennyson, a 10-year-old boy decided to go on a road trip across the whole country in his Grandpa Max's RV - The Rustbucket. Joining them was Gwen Tennyson, Ben's smart mouthed cousin who he did not get along with. When they camped at Yosemite during the first night of summer vacation, Ben ran off to the woods where he saw a shooting star. The shooting star suddenly curved and came right towards Ben. What happened was that Vilgax's ship, the Chimeran Hammer, started shooting Xylene's ship which contained the Omnitrix. Seeing no other choice, Xylene let the capsule carrying the Omnitrix crash into Earth, hoping Max Tennyson would find it.
The smoke cleared around the crater where the shooting star landed, and Ben found that the shooting star was actually a capsule containing a watch. Since Ben's DNA had a close match to Max's DNA, the Omnitrix clung to his wrist. Unable to remove it, Ben decided to use the watch and accidentally turned himself into a fire alien which he decided to call Heatblast. As Heatblast, Ben accidentally set the forest on fire which caused Max and Gwen to come and try to quench the flames. Both of them were astonished to see that the monster in front of them was actually Ben.
As the group started discussing what they should do, Max informed the group that what Ben turned into was an alien, not a monster. Gwen was suspicious of Max for knowing that, to which he pointed out that Heatblast was an alien because he looked like one. Meanwhile, due to the blasts that Vilgax's ship suffered, half of his body had been damaged. As such, he began to heal in a container and sent some of his Mechadroids to retrieve the Omnitrix from him. On Earth, Ben, disobeying Max's orders, tested the Omnitrix again and turned into a dog like alien with no eyes and mouth but a heightened sense, named Wildmutt. Suddenly, two of Vilgax's Mechadroids attacked Ben and Gwen. Wildmutt destroyed both Mechadroids.
Vilgax, enraged, sent a much larger Mechadroid to retrieve the Omnitrix for him. This giant Mechadroid landed in Yosemite and started wreaking havoc near the campsite. Ben, Gwen and Max reached the area where the Mechadroid was wreaking havoc and, using a crystal alien which he decided to call Diamondhead, Ben managed to destroy the Mechadroid.
===Hunted===
Failing to get the Omnitrix through his Mechadroids, Vilgax decided to send three mercenaries to retrieve the Omnitrix for him. These hunters were SixSix, Kraab and Tetrax Shard. They were told that whoever retrieved the Omnitrix would get a reward, causing the three hunters to compete among themselves.
While searching for the Omnitrix, the hunters arrived at the place where it was last activated and found a can with a diamond shard on it, left when Ben as Diamondhead was practicing with Max. Meanwhile, the Rustbucket breaks down outside Slaterville. Max found one of Diamondhead's shards to be the cause of this. As Max started repairing the RV, Ben and Gwen went out looking around the ghost town.
Ben and Gwen entered a small shed and Ben decided to have some fun with Gwen by turning into Ghostfreak to scare her. Gwen wasn't amused and suddenly the ground erupted. Kraab had caught up with Ben. He told Ghostfreak to hand the Omnitrix over and then both of them got into a tussle. Kraab was momentarily stunned because of a lift hitting him. After telling Max the story, the Tennysons fled in the RV. Tetrax had observed the whole battle.
While in the RV, Gwen was worried that Kraab would show up. Instead of Kraab, SixSix showed up by blasting a hole in the RV. Max hit the brakes sending, SixSix flying. Since the RV was damaged, the Tennysons fled by foot while Kraab attacked SixSix. Inside a mine, Kraab arrived and once again demanded the Omnitrix. The Tennysons ended up at the center of the mine. As they planned to escape in the lift, Kraab almost cuts the wire before he was attacked by SixSix.
Ben, favoring brute force over strategy, turned into Diamondhead and started battling the two experienced hunters. However, he was defeated and was about to be captured when, out of nowhere, a smoke ball exploded and Tetrax took off with Diamondhead. At the town, Tetrax tossed Diamondhead around, rhetorically asking why the Omnitrix had to end up with Ben when it could have ended up with six billion other people. Diamondhead tried to fight Tetrax only to be overpowered. Tired, Ben asked for answers. Tetrax revealed that he too was also a part of Diamondhead's species. He said that he has to retrieve the Omnitrix and decided to take Ben along with him. As he was looking for his hoverboard, Kraab and SixSix showed up holding the hoverboard, as well as Gwen and Max.
Ben as Grey Matter then took on Max while Tetrax, using his shards to protect Max and Gwen, retrieved his hoverboard and fought SixSix. Grey Matter found Kraab's nerve clusters and, using them, he shut the hunter down. Meanwhile, Tetrax and SixSix were still fighting and Grey Matter, by using the same technique he used on Kraab, made SixSix go haywire, and he landed near Kraab while a tower crushed them. Tetrax took out a cube and used it to trap the other two hunters. Realizing that the Omnitrix was in good hands, Tetrax gave his Hoverboard to Ben and teleported away. Vilgax, angry at being betrayed by Tetrax, concluded that whoever had the Omnitrix was clever and brutal, and vows to not be denied again.
===The Alliance===
Aboard his spaceship, Vilgax was informed that two of his Mechadroids had been modified and they had been sent to retrieve the Omnitrix. Vilgax believed that the Mechadroids would be unable to do so as whoever had the Omnitrix was a mastermind and was strong.
On Earth, Ben, Gwen and Max were attacked by a female gang led by a female mercenary - Rojo. Ben as Four Arms battled the gang and the Mechadroids join the fight. Max was severely injured during the fight. Four Arms destroyed the Mechadroids and defeated Rojo and her gang. Ben and Gwen then had Max admitted to a hospital. Meanwhile, Rojo, who was curious about the Mechadroids, touched one of them and unintentionally fused with it. Vilgax was then able to communicate with Rojo and told her to retrieve the Omnitrix. After escaping from the police, the Mechadroid-fused Rojo attacked Ben at the hospital where Max had been admitted.
Ben turned into Heatblast and started fighting Rojo. After tossing Rojo into an oil tank, Heatblast lit the oil which caused an explosion. Ben, thinking he had defeated Rojo, went back to the hospital. Eventually, Rojo recovered and had another conversation with Vilgax, who threatened to end Rojo's life if she didn't get him the Omnitrix.
Ben left the hospital and ran off, thinking it would be for the best. At a park, he listened to a police report and, deducing that Rojo was behind it, went to confront her.
Gwen, upon learning that Ben had fled, and after hearing the same police report, headed off to the place where Rojo was. Ben as XLR8, turned up and started fighting Rojo. As they fought, XLR8 ran into Gwen and, after listening to some advice from Max, came up with a plan. He turned into Upgrade and attached himself to Rojo. While being fused with Rojo, Vilgax conversed with Ben and told him that he was coming for him. The parts of the Mechadroid fell off and Rojo regained her human form. She was then arrested. Ben told a recovered Max about Vilgax's message and Max told him not to worry. As soon as Ben entered the RV, the camera zoomed in on Max, revealing him with a worried look as he had an idea to who the alien was.
===Secrets===
Vilgax, now fully healed and cybernetically enhanced, prepared to go to Earth to get the Omnitrix once and for all. 
Ben told Max that he had a nightmare where he once again saw Vilgax who said he was coming. Max suddenly started his RV, saying that they were going to Mt. Rushmore. Ben and Gwen were confused but Max told them that it was not the time to ask questions before starting to drive. 
Bored, Ben decided to turn into Upgrade so that he could hijack Gwen's laptop. This caused the activation signal of the Omnitrix to be detected on Vilgax's ship. Immediately, Vilgax ordered his crew to track the signal down. The sensors took a few seconds to find the signal's general location. Vilgax loses the signal when Upgrade reverts to Ben. However, he wasn't fazed as he had collected enough data to get a general idea about the Omnitrix's location.
Vilgax deduced a way to draw the Omnitrix's user out. He landed on Earth and started wreaking havoc in Rapid City. In their RV, Ben and Gwen saw the flames surrounding Rapid City. Max stated that the locals should have everything under their control. Ben looked on and decided to help. Max disallowed this but Ben turned into Heatblast and flew off to Rapid City. Heatblast started battling the Mechadroids sent by Vilgax and was surprised by how easily he managed to defeat them. Suddenly, a net captured Heatblast and Vilgax revealed himself to Heatblast. He burned out the net and started attacking Vilgax. Vilgax didn't feel a thing and threw Heatblast halfway across the town with apparent ease.
Burning away the rubble over him, Heatblast commented on Vilgax's strength as Vilgax leapt across the city to land a short distance from him. Heatblast used his flames to melt the street into a hot, fiery tar. Vilgax then tripped on it. Max arrived in the RV, saw Vilgax, and became horrified. Max interposed the RV between him and Vilgax. Gwen opened the door, and said that Max wanted him in, though Heatblast refused. He then reverted to Ben, and Max shouts at Ben to get in the RV.
Max warned Ben not to pick a fight with Vilgax. Ben wondered how Max knows his name and Gwen asked what he wasn't telling them. Mechadroids surrounded the RV and started attacking it. Ben turned into Stinkfly and, ignoring Max's warning, went off to fight. Stinkfly managed to destroy the Mechadroids but Vilgax then tackled Stinkfly. Gwen told Max that they should help but Max stated that they would get special help while Gwen guessed it would be at Mt. Rushmore. Stinkfly continued to battle Vilgax, and Vilgax managed to turn Ben into his human form by touching his Omnitrix symbol. Ben was surprised by how he managed to do that while Vilgax was surprised that the Omnitrix belongs to a human child. Vilgax then captured Ben and took off so that he could remove the Omnitrix from Ben.
The RV reached Mt. Rushmore and Max went into a special floor. He took out a weapon and told Gwen that he wasn't a normal plumber back in the day. On Vilgax's ship, Ben was affixed to Vilgax's extraction device. His right hand and legs were restrained by energy and his left arm was in a cylinder to extract the Omnitrix. Vilgax said that the Omnitrix was the key to a power struggle, so ancient, so vast, that it was beyond Ben's comprehension. He intends to create an army where each member wears the Omnitrix, and it was visually represented as an army of Omnitrix aliens attacking an ice fortress. Vilgax claimed that he shall be the ultimate conqueror of the universe. An array of tools then rose up from the floor around Ben.
Meanwhile, Max told Gwen that the weapon he was carrying had been designed to destroy Vilgax. The Tennysons found the ship and saw that it was about to fly off. Gwen asked how they would board the ship and Max responded by pressing a button on the RV. On Vilgax's ship, Vilgax saw an alarm going off and the Rustbucket crashed into the ship, knocking over some bioids and hitting Vilgax. Max stepped out of the RV holding the weapon. Vilgax recognized Max and called him by his last name as Max fired the weapon at him.
A power surge suddenly grappled the Omnitrix, causing Ben to transform into different aliens, finally ending up with Four Arms. Using this alien, Ben broke free. Using his alien transformations, Ben battled the Mechadroids while the ship started losing altitude. Max remarked that they would have to bring the ship under control, leaving Ben impressed and Gwen more confused than ever. As Max tried controlling the ship, Vilgax attacked him, revealing that the weapon no longer hurt him because of his cybernetic enhancements.
Ben as Upgrade tackled Vilgax out of the ship, making both of them land in Mt. Rushmore. Ben turned into Ripjaws,XLR8 and Diamondhead to fight Vilgax but was no match. Ben finally turned into Ghostfreak which made him immune to Vilgax's physical attacks which were now stronger thanks to his boosters. Ghostfreak then phased through the ground as Vilgax's ship passed overhead.
Vilgax's ship crashed while Max drove his way through the ship. Gwen and Max made it out, though the RV was completely damaged. They heard a crash in the back, and they assumed it to be Ben. However, Vilgax appeared and shortly thereafter, Ghostfreak arrived to find the RV empty. He passed through it and found Vilgax holding Gwen and Max. Ghostfreak transformed into Wildmutt and confronted Vilgax. Vilgax offered him a choice: it would either be Ben's family killed, or Wildmutt surrenders and gives up the Omnitrix. Wildmutt chose to surrender to Vilgax. Vilgax dropped Gwen and Max. He walked over to Wildmutt and reverted him to Ben. He took Ben back to the crashed ship. Max warned Vilgax not to go back in the ship.
Vilgax thought that Max was foolish to order him to not board the ship, but Max had activated the self-destruct launch mechanism. Vilgax dropped Ben in an attempt to try and shut it off. He failed to do so and was blasted again with the weapon by Ben. Just before the ship explodesd, Ben transformed to Heatblast and escaped the blast. Vilgax, unfortunately for him, was left behind. Gwen and Max found Ben in a smoking crater, sitting on a pillar in the middle of it. Ben then told Max that they needed to talk. All three of them looked up to the sky as pieces of Vilgax's ship fell to the ground.
==Aftermath==
In Truth, Max finally revealed to his grandchildren that he was a part of an intergalactic peace organization - The Plumbers. In his early days when he was a Plumber, at a nuclear missile control center, three pods were being activated and opened up. A red alert had been set to indicate the launch of the missiles. Vilgax was pulling them out of their silos using his ship. Vilgax entered the building, and his Mechadroids shot the officers to make way. Someone then shot down one of his Mechadroids, then shot directly at Vilgax. Two men in blue suits were armed with heavy weaponry and they were going after Vilgax. Vilgax identified the one who shot him as Phil. Phil ran after him, but Vilgax jumped up and kicked his helmet off, revealing Phil's true face. As Vilgax held Phil captive, he threatened the other man in the suit by pointing his weapon at Phil. A nearby Mechadroid then activated another missile and Vilgax told them that it is headed directly to one of the cities on Earth.
The other Plumber, Phil's partner, was actually Max. Vilgax ordered Max to put his weapon down. Max suddenly shot a laser from his wrist that knocked the gun out off of Vilgax's hand, allowing Phil to push Vilgax off of him. Vilgax thought that he had succeeded with his plan to destroy the city, but Max was able to shoot a rubber-like material directly at Vilgax to send him along with the explosive. The ship exploded, making Max and the other Plumbers think that Vilgax was gone. Since Vilgax was the major threat to Earth, after his defeat, the alien threats became significantly smaller and most of the Plumbers retired.
Vilgax would later return in Back With a Vengeance, revealed to have been sent into space after his ship exploded, frozen in a block of ice.
Category:Story Arcs