Ben Again

Ben Again is the fifth episode of the third season of Ben 10: Omniverse, and the twenty-fifth episode overall.
==Synopsis==
When Eon causes 11-year-old Ben to swap minds with teen Ben, it's up to Gwen, Rook, and Professor Paradox to set things straight.
==Plot==
The episode begins with a young XLR8 battling Eon for the first time outside of Mr. Smoothy. Five years later, Eon battles with Diamondhead outside of the same Mr. Smoothy. Present day Ben notes Eon isn't fighting as he usually does. When both him and young Ben in the past time out, Eon reveals his true intentions and grabs their Omnitrix in both time periods, causing an explosion that knocks both Bens to the ground. When Teen Ben awakes, he is in Young Ben's body, but doesn't notice and thinks his Omnitrix has altered itself to look like his old one. Ben transforms into Ditto to his surprise, and then duplicates and dogpiles Eon, though Eon quickly disappears. As the Dittos celebrate, Gwen and Max arrive. From one shock of seeing them to another, Ben turns back and notices he's a kid; Gwen takes note of Ben's voice sounding different. Ben tries to explain to them that he's from the future, and is concerned for where his younger self has wound up.
Meawhile, in the present, we see Young Ben in Teen Ben's body, absolutely thrilled. Rook and Max arrive to him, also wondering why his voice is different. Eon suddenly appears, fascinated by the "temporal consciousness inversion" he had unintentionally created. He demands to see Professor Paradox, but Ben is confused. Eon remembers that Young Ben hasn't met him yet, and the professor would instead seek out Teen Ben. He disappears. Back in the past, as Ben starts answering Gwen's questions about the future (which Max objects to), Paradox appears and introduces himself to Max and Gwen. Ben notes his new steampunk-esque getup and now-prosthetic arm, to which Paradox gripes that he has been fighting in open warfare on the space time continuum; Ben is delighted by the idea of a Time War. Paradox tells Ben in private that Eon wants nothing less than absolute power over everything, thus he has trapped Eon in this timeline: he can freely travel to the past or future, but cannot access alternate realities. Furthermore, Eon's key to escaping is with Paradox's pocket watch, the Chrononavigator, which has been disguised. Eon suddenly appears and fights with Paradox, which results in Eon overpowering him and cutting off his prosthetic arm. Paradox refuses to give up the Chrononavigator, so Eon teleports them both away. Before he leaves, Paradox shouts to Ben that all matters are "well in hand". Ben is left with nothing but the professor's severed arm.
At Plumber Headquarters in the present, Young Ben is being mischievous, and Rook wonders if there is anyone that has experience dealing with this younger Ben. As if on cue, Gwen appears in the doorway. She explains that five years ago, Ben had uncharacteristically made her promise to come see him exactly five years later, and take him to Mr. Smoothy. When Young Ben doesn't remember promising her anything, the gang correctly hypothesize Ben's "cross-time brain swap". Meanwhile, Eon holds Paradox captive at the end of time for interrogation. Paradox says that he doesn't have the Chrononavigator, and Eon believes him, puzzled. Back in the past, Ben and Gwen are inside the Rustbucket 2 and Ben studies the arm, trying to decipher Paradox's hint. Gwen is put off by how mature and nice he is compared to his younger self. Ben then makes Gwen promise the same promise she will have seen to in the future. Ben then walks off with the Chrononavigator.
Back in the present, Gwen indeed takes Ben to Mr. Smoothy, with Rook driving in the Proto-TRUK. When they arrive, Ben notices his favorite Sumo Slammer sticker has been somehow etched into the bottom of a street lamp. Meanwhile, Eon continues his interrogation. He realizes that the Chrononavigator must be in Paradox's arm, and plans to go back to the moment he severed his arm, but Paradox warns him that the fabric of spacetime is already dangerously thin at that point, and that travelling there could cause a rupture. Eon is frustrated, but smiles at an alternate idea he has. He teleports away, leaving Paradox shackled.
In the present, Rook notices other markings on the top of the lamp. Ben transforms into Diamondhead and rides a crystal pillar to reach it. Inscribed at the top are a pair of coordinates and the word "Armodrillo". Rook identifies the coordinates as part of the abandoned sewage system that runs underneath Bellwood and through Undertown, Ben being confused by both it and Armodrillo. They follow the coordinates to inside a tea shop run by Pakmar. Pakmar tries to keep Ben out, but Rook persuades him to let them enter into the basement. Ben transforms into Armodrillo and drills under until he hits a pipe, accidentally flooding the shop and causing more misery for the dejected Parkmar. The gang continue driving, as the inscribed coordinates on the hit pipe leads them to more clues that only Ben can access (Goop to look in a tap, NRG to enter a nuclear reactor, and Wildmutt to dig underground). Eventually, they are led right back to Mr. Smoothy. Rook and Gwen question why they would do all that clue searching to just come back where they started, but Ben lauds it, as nobody would look for a treasure at the start of a treasure map. Rook's scanner detects something inside the Mr. Smoothy building. Ben attempts to transform into Armodrillo again, but turns into Big Chill instead. He phases through the building and finds Paradox's arm inside the wall. Just as they start wondering what it is, Eon arrives through a portal and steals it.
thumb|Eras collide
Now armed with the key to the multiverse, Eon can see every timeline and reality now available to him. Young Ben transforms into Arctiguana and freezes Eon, who uses the Chrononavigator to summon waves of his minions. As Gwen, Rook, and Arctiguana dispatch of them, they take notice that the portals in time that summoned them aren't closing as usual. They start swirling around Eon, creating a rift in time that shows them Young Gwen and Teen Ben in the past. The Gwens are shocked to see each other, but another rift opens to Paradox, and he tells them not to cross. Eon is outraged by these effects and accuses Paradox of tricking him, but Paradox says that he warned him and to stop before all of existence is destroyed. Distressed, Eon recklessly uses the arm more, saying that if he cannot rule the cosmos, he will destroy it. Arctiguana and Ben as Wildvine attempt to take the Chrononavigator from Eon without crossing over the rift, while Gwen teaches her younger self a spell that they cast into Paradox's rift and free him of his shackles. Arctiguana's ice breath and Wildvine's vines both reach Eon, stuck between the two timelines, but he breaks free. Both of them detransform.
thumb|Young and old Clockworks
Out of options, Teen Ben asks Paradox what to do. He suggests the Bens use Clockwork to anchor Eon in their respective time zones. Teen Ben points out Clockwork is not available in the original Omnitrix, Paradox tells him that if activated at the same time, their Omnitrices might synchronize. The two Bens try it out, and Teen Ben successfully transforms into an 11-year-old Clockwork. He and 16-year-old Clockwork both blast Eon with their time beams, causing him to disappear. Paradox retrieves his arm and explains that with Eon gone, all the separate eras of time will soon start snapping back into place. Young Ben quickly deduces their memories of the event and the event itself will be erased immediately; Paradox admires Young Ben's skill at understanding the concepts of time, though laments he'll have to learn it all over again someday. Young Ben and Teen Ben then say goodbye to each other, and time is restored to normal, with Ben and Rook (after he arrives in the Proto-TRUK) enjoying some smoothies outside Mr. Smoothy. Ben is bored, hoping for some universal calamity. Rook agrees. At that very moment, Ben 10,000 arrives through a portal, asking Ben for Paradox's location. He tells his younger self that "the Chronosapiens have gone rogue, and Maltruant's temporal beasts are on a cross-dimensional rampage," saying that the Time War is getting out of hand. Ben is, yet again, delighted by the idea.
==Noteworthy Events==
===Major Events===
*11-year-old Ben Prime meets Eon for the first time, though his memory of this is erased.
*Clockwork is temporarily unlocked for 11-year-old Ben.
====Character Debuts====
*Professor Paradox (Omniverse debut)
*Eon (Omniverse debut)
*Eon's Minions (Omniverse) (debut)
*Ben 10,000
====Omnitrix Alien Debuts====
*Ditto (Omniverse debut by 11-year-old Ben)
*Wildvine (Omniverse debut by 11-year-old Ben)
*Clockwork (Omniverse debut by 11-year-old Ben)
==Characters==
*Ben Tennyson (11 and 16 years old)
*Rook Blonko
*Gwen Tennyson (11 and 16 years old)
*Max Tennyson (60/61 and 66 years old)
*Professor Paradox (first reappearance)
*Plumbers
**Blukic
**Driba
**Jerry (cameo)
**Molly Gunther (cameo)
*Pakmar
*Ben 10,000 (first appearance)
===Villains===
*Eon (first reappearance)
*Eon's Minions (Omniverse) (first appearance)
==Aliens Used==
===By 11-year-old Ben===
*XLR8 (off-screen activation)
*Diamondhead (in 16-year-old's body)
*Armodrillo (in 16-year-old's body; cameo)
*Goop (in 16-year-old's body)
*NRG (in 16-year-old's body; cameo)
*Wildmutt (in 16-year-old's body)
*Big Chill (in 16-year-old's body; intended alien was Armodrillo; cameo)
*Arctiguana (in 16-year-old's body)
*Clockwork (in 16-year-old's body)
===By 16-year-old Ben===
*Diamondhead (off-screen activation)
*Ditto (first reappearance; in 11-year-old's body)
*Wildvine (first reappearance; in 11-year-old's body)
*Clockwork (in 11-year-old's body)
==Spells Used==
===By 16-year-old Gwen===
*Combibo potentia
===By 11-year-old Gwen===
*Combibo potentia
==Quotes==
==Naming and Translations==
==Cast==
==Continuity==
*Gwen continues to be disgusted by Goop, as seen when he comes out of the gas station faucet.
==Allusions==
*Doctor Who is homaged by Paradox mentioning being a part in a Time War. This is explained by the Doctor as the reason the Time Lords aren't around anymore in Doctor Who. This is further expanded upon in David Tennant's last episode The End of Time.
**The Chrononavigator's former and current shape reference The Doctor's fob watch (a part of the chameleon arch) and the Gauntlet of Rassilon respectively, the later further referencing The End of Time.
*When Ben says "Abso-tively poso-lutely", this is what Dodger from Oliver & Company says for most parts of the film. 
==Errors==
*When Diamondhead fights Eon, the sky is yellow instead of blue for an instant.
*When 16-year-old Ben (in 11-year-old Ben's body) transforms into Ditto, the Omnitrix dial doesn't pop up despite making the sound of doing so.
*When all of the Ditto clones are gathered, one of the clones is missing a bump on his wrist, while another is missing one on his shoulder.
*When Eon arrives at the present, 11-year-old Ben in the 16-year-old Ben's body instantly knows how to use the new Omnitrix despite never seeing it before.
*When Eon travels to the past, Professor Paradox's right arm only has four fingers.
*When Gwen, Rook and 11-year-old Ben talk in Rook's truck, Rook's mouth disappears for a moment. Also, Rook's shoulders are bigger than usual.
*At Pakmar's shop, 11-year-old Ben transforms into Armodrillo despite not knowing what he looks like, or looking at the icons.
*When Ben, Gwen and Rook run away from Pakmar's shop, the board of the shop reads "Packmar's Fine Teas".
*When Goop exits the faucet, his Anti-Gravity Projector is semi-transparent.
*In one shot, the Omnitrix has the prototype's faceplate.
*11-year-old Arctiguana (in 16-year-old Ben's body) says "I finally got an alien I know how to use" to Gwen, even though he had already used Diamondhead and Wildmutt.
*When Eon attacks Wildvine, the Proto-TRUK is shown in the past when it should be in the present instead.
*When 16-year-old Ben (in 11-year-old Ben's body) transforms into Clockwork, the rim of the Omnitrix symbol is gold instead of silver.
*The closed captions on the Ben 10 Omniverse: Aliens At War DVD misspell Maltruant's name as "Maltruent".
Ben10OVbenagain (27).png|Sky error
Ben10OVbenagain (46).png|Omnitrix faceplate error
Ben10OVbenagain (55).png|Missing bumps
Ben10OVbenagain_(158).png|Four fingers
Ben10OVbenagain (273).png|Shoulder size error
BA 340.PNG|Pakmar spelling error
BA 347.5.png|Transparent projector
BA 359.PNG|Omnitrix faceplate error
BA 438.PNG|Proto-TRUK in the past
BA 472.PNG|Omnitrix symbol error
OV AAW DVD Maltruant Error.png|Incorrect closed captions on the Ben 10 Omniverse: Aliens At War DVD
==Trivia==
*This episode replaced the episode Tummy Trouble due to a change in the schedule.
*When 11-year-old Ben in 16-year-old Ben's body transforms into Diamondhead, his voice sounds slightly younger.
*Due to Eon being defeated, the time-stream reset from the beginning of the episode causing the events in this episode to never have happened, except for the part at the end where Ben 10,000 comes looking for Professor Paradox.
*Ben 10,000 mentions Maltruant, foreshadowing his existence, as well as the Time War.
*Despite Ben 10,000's appearance, he is not necessarily Ben's real future. However, future episodes would solidify him as Ben's true future self.
*Derrick J. Wyatt thought that 11-year-old Ben kept Clockwork after the events of Ben Again, but Matt Youngberg always said he did not.
**Concept art of 12-year-old Kevin's mutated form featured Clockwork's key on the sides of his head. However, this was removed in the final version.
==Notes==
==References==
===Crew Statements===
====Matt Wayne====
====Derrick J. Wyatt====
===Cartoon Network===
es:Ben otra vez
it:Di nuovo Ben
pl:Znowu Ben
pt-br:Ben, de Novo
ro:Din nou Ben
ru:И Снова Бен
tr:Ben Yine
Category:Episodes
Category:Ben 10: Omniverse Episodes
Category:Ben 10: Omniverse Season 3 Episodes
Category:Episodes Aired Out of Production Order
Category:Episodes Written by David McDermott
Category:Episodes Directed by John Fang
Category:Time War Arc
Category:Featured Articles