# đź“– *Ben 10: The Lost Years*
**Episode 8 – Legends Born of Lies // Betrayal of Rats**
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### **POV: Bellwood Student Gossip (Earth Opening)**
If you asked around Bellwood High, everyone had a different version of Ben Tennyson.
Some said he was lazy. Some said genius. Some swore he could catch a spitball before it was even fired.
Gary the Bully told anyone who'd listen: "He's a freak."
Marty, the one friend who still defended him, muttered: "He's smarter than all of us. Just doesn't show it."
Rumors piled on, absurd ones too: that he lived in dumpsters, that the government monitored him, that he had FBI training. By lunch the cafeteria whispers spread bigger than the truth.
And Ben? Sitting there, bruised from alien raids nobody knew happened, just smirked as he picked cafeteria pizza crust.
"Man," he muttered to himself. "Even Earth rumors sound insane now."
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### **POV: Ben — After School**
He was halfway home when a voice hissed from the alley:
"Pssst. Kid. Opportunity. Big one."
Argit stepped out, tail curling, eyes sly.
Ben narrowed his eyes. "Whenever you say 'opportunity,' it means broken bones for me."
Argit grinned, flashing teeth. "Relax. Crazy money. Easy smuggling gig. No raiders, no Syndicate bloodhounds. Just one simple meet, we profit, we bail."
Ben's Spark hummed uneasily in his chest. Instinct whispered: *trap.*
He grinned anyway. "Sure. Let's see how easy."
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## 🚀 **Transition to Space**
The shuttle rattled from atmosphere into star‑speckled blackness. Argit hummed nervously, piloting.
"Kid, easy credits. That's what we need. No more rebellions, no more hero worship songs. Just credits and calm."
"Uh‑huh," Ben muttered, Spark buzzing harder. "Cause calm follows you around everywhere."
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### **POV: Spaceport Outpost — Syndicate Trap**
The shuttle docked at a jagged Syndicate outpost, crawling with thugs. Neon lights bathed corridors where smugglers traded whispers.
Argit strutted, pretending confidence.
Ben muttered flatly: "This place smells like betrayal."
Argit hissed back: "Shhh! Professionals, remember?"
Moments later, armed mercenaries surrounded them. Blasters raised. Shackles hissed closed on Ben's wrists.
A spiked Syndicate captain sneered down. "Tennyson. The brat."
Ben flicked eyes at Argit. "Well?"
And Argit finally cackled nervously. "Sorry, kid. Nothing personal. Just business. My head's worth less than yours. So… better you than me."
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### **POV: Argit — His Side**
It hurt a little. The kid had been useful, terrifying, even borderline impressive. But Argit knew survival meant ditching allies before they doomed you. This boy burned too bright — painted a target bigger than planets.
Better to cut him loose now and walk away breathing.
Argit muttered, "Stick with me, I said. You'll be fine, I said. Okay, maybe *you won't,* but you get what I mean." He pocketed a glowing credit chip, whistling.
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### **POV: Ben — The Counter**
Bound, bruised, surrounded, Ben smirked.
"You know," he said casually to the Syndicate leader, "this is adorable. Argit sells me out, you brag, we all play dress‑up gangster for ten minutes. Cool scene."
The Spark rolled like a tide through his chest. He *knew* when one thug's foot shifted, when another's trigger hand itched. He'd counted vents, cycled power nodes, memorized doors.
"What Argit doesn't know," Ben continued, voice laced with venomous grin, "is that double‑crossing me usually goes both ways."
The captain sneered. "What nonsense—?"
Electric sparks burst across the corridor. Doors slammed. Lights cut out.
Ben twisted his wrists. The cuffs he'd let them lock? Shorted by a chip he'd palmed earlier, re‑wired with his Spark guiding him. Shackles fried. He rolled free.
An explosion of chaos thundered.
Ben roared, "SURPRISE QUIZ, EVERYONE!"
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### **POV: Syndicate Thug**
Blasts ricocheted as the human darted in shadows, pipe grabbing off the floor like a saber. He juked *before* shots were fired, eyes glowing with precognition. He slammed thugs into walls, weapon discharges slicing their own team.
The rodent screamed about business deals, trying to escape.
But the myth grew real: the boy laughed through every strike.
"This is the Sparked!" one thug shouted in terror.
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### **POV: Argit — Realization**
Argit's fur drenched cold. Ben *knew* about the betrayal. He'd set this up too! The kid had fed him "safe meet coordinates" knowing Argit would sell them — and laced them with sabotage points.
"You—" Argit squeaked from behind a crate. "You betrayed me *first!*"
Ben snarled mid‑swing. "Lesson's mutual, fuzzball!"
He clotheslined another Syndicate thug, Spark blazing like lightning in his veins.
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### **POV: Ben vs Argit — The Confrontation**
Alarms blared red. Thugs fled. Smoke hissed. Only Ben and Argit remained face to face in the corridor.
Argit raised claws back defensively. "Look, kid, you were getting me killed everywhere we went. I had to sell you out!"
Ben's grin was bitter now, eyes sharp. "Good instinct. But you forgot—I was *ready* for you. Consider yourself betrayed back."
Argit hissed. "We're even."
Ben smirked. "We're done."
They stared, tense as blasters screamed in background.
Finally Argit spat, tail lashing. "Fine. I'll survive longer without you anyway."
He bolted toward an escape pod, cackling.
Ben exhaled, Spark cooling. Alone. Exactly how it had to be.
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### **POV: Galactic Tavern Gossip**
"…Argit betrayed the boy!"
"No, no, the boy betrayed Argit *first!* Turned the whole Syndicate base into traps!"
"Either way, both walked away cursing each other."
"What's his name again? The Trickster. The Sparked. The Watchless One. Trust him, and you'll be betrayed too."
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### **POV: Earth Ending**
Ben trudged into school the next day, hoodie ragged, eyes ringed with exhaustion.
Marty glanced at him. "Dude, you look like you fought a war."
Ben smirked faint. "Detention's brutal."
Ms. Dalton sighed watching him doodle alien schematics mid‑lecture. "That boy's too clever for his own good."
Meanwhile, across half the galaxy, legends sharpened sharper:
**The boy who even betrayed his own ally.**
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### **POV: Ben — Closing Beat**
At night, staring at the Omnitrix shell on his desk, Spark thudding steady in his chest, Ben whispered to himself:
"No more partners. No more freeloaders. No more betrayals."
He smirked, crooked and tired.
"If I'm gonna be a legend, guess I'll have to do it alone."
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✨ **Episode 8 ** ✨