Disclaimer: I do not own Ben 10 or its sequels, spin-off and related characters. All is the property of Man of Action and Cartoon Network. I'm just borrowing them for some non-profit entertainment.

Extraterrestrial Registration Act

Chapter One:

"Opinion governs the world, but in the long run, it is wise to govern opinion." -Voltaire

...

It didn't start out terrible. But then, few things do.

Perhaps the true beginning of the hysteria could be drawn back to the defeat of Diagon. Everyone all over the world suddenly woke up as if from sleepwalking and had no idea what they'd been doing or how some of them got where they were. Of course, no one had any memory of becoming Esoterica or slipping between dimensions to cross the globe and fight Ben Tennyson and his allies. They were just living their normal lives one moment and then the next it was a whole day later, people found themselves in places they had no business being, and with no recollection of how they got there. Family's were separated. People were misplaced in the confusion and the shuffle.

But probably the worst part was that the whole planet was affected. Every person across every country in the world. It wasn't just a Bellwood problem. It wasn't even an American problem. It was everyone. Everywhere.

There was really no sweeping this one under the rug.

After an immeasurably long meeting, in which Ben Tennyson and his entourage were debriefed thoroughly, the United Nations issued a press statement. They painted Ben as a hero and gave him all the credit he felt he was due (which did nothing to improve his ego). But then they made the move that would later be identified as the spark that started the ET hysteria.

While the leaders of most of the major governments of the Earth knew of and recognized the Plumbers as intergalactic peace keepers, up to that moment, they had all kept the Plumbers' existence, and by extension the existence of extraterrestrial life, a secret. But that all changed during the UN press conference where the representative of the United States stood and admitted to working with the interstellar space-cops.

Suddenly everything changed over night.

The world had just gotten a lot bigger. Not only was there a great big universe out there, but it was populated by all manner of peoples and creatures. All with unique and rich cultures. Strange ideas. And terrible dangers.

Science changed.

Philosophy changed.

Religion changed.

Economy changed.

Society changed.

And then people started asking questions like, 'If they've known about aliens since the 50s, are there any aliens living among us?', 'How do I know my neighbors are who they say they are?' and most important of all, 'Are we safe?'

Slogans started appeared tagged on billboards or on the sides of city buses, 'EARTH is for EARTHLINGS!' and 'ET Go Home!'

But these were just words. Meaningless hot air painted by uneducated philistines who didn't know any better. That is, until someone took that attitude and those slogans and gave them power. More importantly, gave them a force and purpose.

About a year after the defeat of Diagon, a new political party formed in the US. Crazier than the Tea Party had ever been, was the Forever Party, founded -unsurprisingly- by the leaders of the Forever Knights. The faction leaders seeing a golden opportunity in the chaos put their personal feuds aside and united the order, shifting their tactics from practical to political. Will Harangue praised the party's platform, hoisting up their fringe group from the peripheral of political attention to front and center. The more attention it got, the more favor it garnered with conservative voters.

No one was quite sure how, but somehow, Cyrus Downes (whom Ben had only ever known as 'Sir Cyrus') made it into the Senate.

That was when the Extraterrestrial Registration Act was proposed.

…

"Its completely ridiculous!" Gwen exclaimed, snapping the lid of her lap-top down with perhaps a bit more force than she should have. She slid the computer to the side and grabbed the smoothie cup closest to her, gulping it down in frustration. It was only after the second sip, however, that she realized it was not her macha green tea with kale that she was was slurping down, but rather Ben's Everything Surprise smoothie. (The surprise was expired candied cherries.)

There was no way to spit it back out discreetly, so she was forced to swallow.

Kevin sympathetically pushed her own smoothie closer to her.

Ben, for his part, was completely oblivious to his cousin's accidental bogarting of his beverage, as he was preoccupied signing an autograph. "There you go." He smiled as the girl and her screaming friends trotted away. 'I'll never wash this arm again!' The Savior of the Universe then returned to the conversation. "Sorry, what were we talking about?"

"ET Registration." Kevin reminded him.

"Oh, yeah. We've been talking about that in my social studies class." He said, proud of the fact that he was actually informed about something without Gwen having to be the one to educate him. "I'm actually looking forward to it. It'll make our job a lot easier. Don't ya think?"

This time it was Kevin's turn to slam something down with a bit more force than he should have. His own smoothie cup was half-way to his lips when Ben spoke and Kevin slammed it back down without taking a single sip. "Are you stupid?"

Ben glanced between the two of them in confusion, not understanding the upset here. "Wait, you guys don't like the idea?" He asked. "But think how much easier it will be if we need to find someone we need. -Like Argit! How many times have we worked with or against Argit these past two years? But if we needed him right now, do either of you know how to get in touch with him?"

"Yes." Kevin said without hesitation. He did not elaborate on how he gets in touch with his tech dealing friends.

"I can find him if I need to." Gwen supplied. Then shook her head. "But that's not the point, Ben. The point is that they are singling out a specific group. You don't see the government asking for a Middle Aged White Male Registration. They're isolating a specific group and demanding that group limit their own freedoms by signing away their basic right to privacy. Its a violation of basic human rights."

"How?" Ben asked, skeptically.

"The government is demanding to know where you are every second of the day." Kevin supplied.

"And that implies to people who don't know any better that those who are registered are dangerous or have something wrong with them which is why they 'need' to be watched." Gwen elaborated. "It encourages -almost justifies- people to discriminate."

Ben looked between the two of them skeptically. It couldn't be all that bad. He understood why Kevin was against it. The Registration Act would make it more difficult for him to conduct his side business. Black market alien tech dealer. It would make it harder for him to set up meetings, broker deals, acquire new product, or line up new clients. Maybe the Act would force him to actually go strait. For real this time. And, quite frankly, Ben did not have a problem with that.

They stared back at him, as if not understanding why he wasn't agreeing with them.

"Ben, what exactly did they tell you in your social studies class? Did you even read the proposition?" Gwen asked in her 'I'm being patient' voice.

There was a moment's pause before his answer as Ben sipped his smoothy, completely unconcerned. "Mr. Fisher explained that its no different than the Megan's Law. Ya know, the sex offender registry."

They continued to stare at him, now with horror.

"Your teacher is comparing aliens to rapists and child molesters?" Kevin blinked in disbelief. Suddenly, he decided he wasn't missing anything by never attending high school. If that's the way they were teaching. Jeez.

Gwen put her face in her hands. "Ugh! I can't believe Uncle Carl and Aunt Sandra leave you in the crappy public school!" She moaned. As if public school was the worst thing since the invention of bad things. "First of all, a person can be added to the Sex Offender Database for something as innocent as sleeping with his girlfriend before she turns eighteen. Not everyone in the Sex Offender Registry is a rapist or child molester. But because they're on the registry, everyone thinks they are because that's who they're grouped together with. The exact same thing will happen with ET Registration. Secondly, you do realize that you are one of the people who will have to be registered, right?"

Ben blinked at her. "Huh? But I'm human. I mean, when I'm not using the Omnitrix, I'm just a normal guy."

"Dude, your grandmother's a scary Anodite." Kevin reminded him. "Ya got alien blood in you whether is shows or not. If you had taken the time to actually read the proposition you'd know that anyone with an alien ancestor as recent as six generations ago, then they're counted as an alien as well and have to be registered. That means you, Gwen, Gwen's brother Ken, your uncle, and your dad."

This was a very good point. At least, Gwen thought it was. But, as per usual, Ben picked up on the wrong detail. "Wait, you actually read the proposition? Wow."

Actually, he hadn't. Gwen read it to him while he was working on his ride. But she read it word for word and helped explain the parts he didn't understand. So, it was actually better than having read it himself. Maybe Ben should get Julie to read it to him.

"Ben, I don't think you're understanding the problem here."

"Well, maybe that's because I don't think there is a problem." He crossed his arms over his chest with a huff.

With a groan, Gwen tried one more tactic. "The Registration was proposed by Sir Cyrus. Doesn't that make you just a little suspicious? I mean, the Forever Knights have been the bad guys since… forever!"

"Now, Gwen, that's just not true." Ben shook his head as if explaining something to a child. "Have you already forgotten how they helped us defeat Diagon. We've buried that hatchet. They're on our side now. I'm sure the ET Registration Act is their attempt to make things easier for us to do our job."

"Man, you are naive on an olympic level." Kevin shook his head and sipped his smoothie.

…

Studying was near impossible. Gwen was no stranger to distraction. There was always some new crisis going on in her life that seemed intent on pulling her away from her school work or extracurriculars. But it was usually something material. Something she could fight. But this… in this one instance, Gwen was truly powerless. She was only seventeen and not yet old enough to vote (not that she thought her one, single, individual vote would matter all that much). So, she tried pushing it out of her mind to focus on her essay. A short piece on the US's Internment of Japanese-American citizens. But her mind kept straying back to the ETRA -the Extraterrestrial Registration Act!

Studying was hopeless right now. She couldn't focus. Gwen reached for her phone.

Usually, Kevin was the one calling her begging to hang out and she was the one telling him to find something to do because she had to study. This time, that role was reversed. She dialed her boyfriend, counting the rings before he answered. Kevin picked up on the third ring.

"Hey, Babe." He sounded slightly distracted. There was the sound of shuffling papers in the background and she wondered what she had caught him in the middle of doing. Not reading, Kevin Ethan Levin didn't do that sort of stuff. It would be nice if he was studying for his GED, but Gwen had the feeling that also wasn't happening.

"I'm not disturbing you, am I?" She asked.

"Nah." He assured her. "Just sorting invoices and going through some old client lists."

Invoices and client lists. Wait, Kevin did actual paperwork with his black market and underground dealings? Wow. Gwen had genuinely not been expecting that. She thought the whole set up was supposed to be anonymous.

But then, after a longer moment of reflection, she remembered that Kevin wasn't dumb. It was a smart move to keep a record of everyone who ever bought or sold contraband to him, on the off chance that he was caught and arrested (which was not likely since the only Plumbers on the planet were all close friends of his) he would have something of value to cut a deal with. Give-up his clients and supplies in exchange for the charges being dropped. Or, if a relationship with a client turned south, he would have sufficient blackmail material to keep them from turning on him.

He didn't show it often, but Kevin was very smart. It was one of the things that Gwen liked about him.

"I can't study." She said. "Wanna come pick me up? I just wanna drive around for a while."

It was a nice night. At least, the night looked nice from her bedroom window. A bit cold. It was early November. But the sky was so clear. Not a cloud in the sky and Gwen was sure that if they got out of the city and away from all the light-pollution they would be able to see the stars. Splayed out across the sky for them. Open and free.

"I'll be over in less than five minutes."

Sure enough, Kevin's green and black muscle car pulled into her driveway about the same time Gwen was pulling on her coat. Making sure she had her keys, wallet and cell phone, she dashed out and climbed in the passenger seat.

"Where do you wanna go?" He asked.

"Somewhere where we can see the stars." She replied.

"The lake it is then."

The ride out of town was relatively easy with little traffic. It being a weeknight, no one was really out partying. Anyone with any sense of responsibility was already home and getting ready for work or school the next morning. Gwen wanted to ask Kevin about his invoices and client lists, but she didn't, and he didn't volunteer any information. While she and Ben both knew that he continued his side business and he made no secret that business was good, they did not actually discuss it at length. They were still Plumbers (Kevin included), and it was still technically illegal.

"Ya know, I'm gonna be turning eighteen soon." He said randomly as they neared the outskirts of town.

That was a non-sequitur. "I know. November eleventh. 11/11. Easy to remember." She smiled. Kevin 11's birthday was on eleven/eleven. "But voting day is November fifth. You turn eighteen too late to make a difference with the ETRA."

"That, uh, that's not actually what I was thinking about." He admitted.

They pulled up to the lake. Its surface was smooth and glassy, the slightest of breezes causing soft ripples that made the reflected starlight dance. It was a beautiful visual effect, and -in Kevin's opinion- highly romantic. He could only imagine Gwen's purpose in brining him here might be...

"I was just wondering about what you said today during our conversation with Ben." He explained. "About eighteen-year-old boys… and their under-aged girlfriends…"

Gwen cast her brain around, trying to remember the snippet of conversation he was referring to. She remembered Ben thinking there was nothing wrong with the ETR Act. And boy, did that piss her off to no end! She and Kevin tried to explain things to him, make him understand exactly why it was bad, but in classic Ben fashion he just brushed off all their arguments. He was stubborn. Once he made up his mind about something, it usually took a full length adventure to change his mind or teach him his lesson.

"Remind me what I said?" Gwen asked.

"When Ben compared ET Registration to the Megan's Law." Kevin supplied. "You mentioned something about sleeping together before you turn eighteen…"

"Oh. That." Her face turned red. Truth be told, that specific example had slipped its way into her argument because it was something she'd been thinking about for some time now. Gwen and Kevin had been together for two years now -an uncommonly long relationship for people in their age bracket- and yet they had not gone that far. In fact, they hadn't even talked about the possibility of going that far. There just never seemed to be sufficient time or opportunity for them to.

They were always running from one mission and monster battle to the next. Or doing research on a new threat. Or trying to put their civilian lives back together after a crisis. By the time they finished with all that, there was just barely enough time to rest before the cycle repeated itself. There just wasn't room in their schedules for them to sequester themselves in a private place, take off all their clothes and be vulnerable together for ten minutes (or however long the act would take).

But that did not mean that Gwen was not interested. Because a woman did not stay with a man for two years if she wasn't interested in seeing him naked at some point.

"Because, ya know, we never really have talked about… um, the sex thing." Aw! Kevin was so cute when he was blushing! Even in the dark, the starlight reflecting off the lake the only light to illuminate his face, Kevin's bright pink flush showed through. He put on such a big, strong, tough-guy front. But deep down, he was really just a big cuddly softie. That was one of the things that Gwen liked about him. A hard shell with a warm gooey center. He was like candy, but in man form, and she could just eat him up. "And I think we should talk about it. Because sex might be a bit more dangerous for us than for normal stupid teenagers."

That gave Gwen a moment's pause. "Dangerous? How? You think I'll lose control of my manna and blow you up or something?"

"No." He said very seriously. "I'm afraid I'll lose control and try to absorb you."

"Oh."

That… that might actually be a valid concern. Gwen was fairly certain that something like that wouldn't happen. He did have incredible control of his Osmosian abilities. But, at the same time, he had tried to absorb her before. When he was Ultimate Kevin. Although, that was when he was Ultimate Kevin, after he had absorbed the power of the Ultimatrix and Aggregor and was suffering from Energy Madness because of it. Kevin wasn't exactly himself at that time and so all of his actions at that time must be examined with, if not a sympathetic eye, then at least an understanding one.

Yes, when Kevin was drunk on energy he was capable of anything. Even eating his girlfriend. But that was only after he'd already absorbed a great deal of energy. But at his daily baseline, Kevin functioned just like any other normal human teenager. Who fought aliens. He functioned like any normal human teenager who fought aliens. But she also functioned like a normal teenager at her own baseline and she was just as capable of destroying him if she lost control as he was of destroying her. And Gwen suddenly realized that the fact that he saw himself as a threat but not her was kinda bothersome. Between the two of them, she felt she was the more effective predator -mostly because no one ever thought of her as a predator.

"I don't think you will." She informed him with all the confidence of someone who had worked through several thought experiments of the scenario. "You need to make a conscious effort to absorb things and I guarantee you, that will be the last thing you're thinking about with me. But if you wanna play the danger game, my manna fluctuates with my emotions. It is totally feasible to think I might lose control during climax and blow you to pieces."

"Ah, but what a glorious way to go…" Kevin mused, a smug smile crossing his lips.

She punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Kevin!"

They lapsed into a momentary silence then. Neither really have anything more to say on the subject of accidentally killing your partner mid-coitus. But then, their's was not a relationship that had to be filled with constant chatter. It was enough that they had each other's company. It was early November and just a bit to cold to get out and sit on the hood, so they stayed in the car. Watching the starlight reflecting off the lake water.

With a sigh, Kevin stretched and draped an arm over Gwen's shoulders. It was a little hard to get close with the stick-shift in the way, but Gwen leaned into the embrace as much as she physically could without uncomfortably bumping herself on the center console.

"Do you want to?" He asked suddenly.

"Want to what?" She asked.

"Have sex… with me?" Kevin clarified. It was her idea to come out here. They were all alone. No other cars around. No campers. By a dark glassy lake. Starlight reflected on the gently dancing water. It was an adequately romantic setting for them to exchange virginities in and Kevin would be lying if he said he wasn't interested in giving his virginity to her.

The answer to that question was, 'yes'. Yes, Gwen wanted to go all the way with Kevin. They had been together for far longer than any of her friends had been with their respective significant others. She had seen Kevin at his worst -his absolute worst- and had never stopped loving him, not even for a second. She often fantasized about pinning him down and ripping his shirt off. They had seen each other in varying stages of 'unclothed' before. But those were all within the context of a battle, or a mission, or in a social setting like the beach with other people around. She had never seen him unclothed in a place where she had the opportunity to run her hands over those perfectly sculpted muscles, or bite the insides of his thighs…

So, yes, Gwen did indeed want to have sex with Kevin. But as she pointed out in their conversation earlier today -which wasn't even about this- there were other reasons they should wait. Kevin was going to be turning eighteen in a little less than a week, but she would remain seventeen until mid-summer. That was a whole six months her parents would have to decide they didn't actually like Kevin and get him arrested. -Not that Gwen believed a terrestrial jail-cell could hole him, but that wasn't the point.

With everything else going on with the ET Registration Act being pushed to a vote, that was the last thing they needed. Just one more unnecessary stressor. One more pointless distraction.

So it was more out of practicality than actual need of the time that Gwen replied, "When I'm eighteen, yes. Its just another six months away. If we can wait two years, we can wait until we're both eighteen."

"Okay…" Was that disappointment she heard in his voice? Wasn't he just talking about how sex would be a bad idea because he might absorb her. Hmph. Looks like Gwen wasn't the only one with mixed feelings about doing the hibbity-dibbity. "Want me to take you home now?"

"No." She leaned over and kissed him. "We won't have sex. But we can do just about everything up to it."

"Everything up to it?"

"Mm-hmm." Gwen climbed over the stick shift to sit on Kevin's lap, straddling his thighs and was pleased by the deepening of the color in his cheeks.

She started slow and chase. Light kisses on his forehead and cheeks, making her way to his lips. When she got to his mouth the kiss was not chase. But deep and passionate, her tongue flicking out experimentally, requesting entrance. Kevin obliged her without hesitation, his own lips parting to let her in gladly, and he moaned at the sensation of her tongue exploring his mouth. Sliding over his own tongue, not quite reaching the back of his throat. Hesitantly, not sure if he was supposed to or not, Kevin let his own tongue slither into her mouth, doing some sliding and exploring of his own.

She must have approved of his action, because Gwen moaned with appreciation when he did. Her hips jerking involuntarily, her pelvis sliding over the quickly rising tent in his jeans. Kevin gasped at the sensation, breaking their kiss.

"That was… We're not… I thought you said you didn't want to have sex." He muttered, stumbling of his words, finding himself inexplicably lightheaded.

"We're not having sex." Gwen assured him. She moved her attentions from his lips to his neck, her breath warm against his skin. "We're just doing everything else."

Her teeth closed over the juncture between his neck and shoulder, biting and pinching the skin there. Sucking slightly. Kevin groaned, his own hips bucking up into hers, and a soft whine of desperation escaped him when he discovered that he was still imprisoned within his own clothing. When Gwen lifted her mouth, there was a dark red -almost purple- mark left there. She liked that -leaving her mark on him. Like a brand. Kevin belonged to her. She grabbed a fist full of his hair, pulling his head to the other side and closing her teeth over the same spot on the opposite side.

"God, Gwen! You're so…" He groaned again, keening at her ministrations, unable to complete a thought or sentences.

One of her hands snaked down to stroke the tent straining upwards between her legs. "Is this all you?"

"Don't know what else it would be." He moaned under her hand. Even through the thick fabric of his jeans, her hand felt so fucking good! What would it feel like with nothing between them? When it was just skin against skin. Suddenly six months seemed like far to long to wait to have her. He snaked a hand between her legs, slithering under her skirt. Her leggings were in the way, but that didn't stop him from trying to stroke her through her clothing like she was stroking him. He was surprised to find just how warm and moist fabric of her leggings was.

"Kevin-!" She gasped.

He froze instantly, interpreting her exclamation as protest.

"Don't- don't stop." Gwen begged, her head falling into his chest, her hand redoubling its efforts on his tent. Stroking faster, squeezing the denim tighter.

"Fuck! Gwen, if you keep doing that, you're gonna make me cum!" He moaned. She was gonna make him cum without ever actually touching his skin! God! She was amazing!

"I wanna cum too." She panted. Her hand moved faster.

Kevin redoubled his efforts stroking the juncture between her thighs. Alternating between rubbing -what he assumed was- her slit with his knuckles and gently poking at it with two fingers, trying to stretch the fabric of her leggings enough to get something inside. God! He wanted to be inside her! If her clothing was this wet, what would it be like when she was naked? Bare and open to him.

Just the idea of Gwen wet, open, and exposed was enough to push him over the edge and Kevin groaned as his climax shook him. His hands grabbing her thighs, fingers digging into the fabric of her tights as he spilled all over the inside of his briefs. He sat there panting. "That was… that was…"

"Disappointing." Gwen sighed.

"What?" He blinked, a little delirious.

"I didn't get to cum." She whined.

"I'll make you cum." Kevin promised. He lifted her off his lap and -very ungently- tossed her back into the passenger seat. But he didn't let her sit properly. Instead Kevin lifted one of her legs by the ankle, forcing her to lay sideways in an awkward and uncomfortable position in the tight space. With his other hand, he reached up her skirt to the waistband of her leggings and had just started pulling them down when she stopped him.

One hand closing around his wrist, the other pined between her face and the window. She wriggled out of his grasp and maneuvered herself until she was sitting properly in the passenger seat. "No… Its getting late and I have school tomorrow. You can make me cum tomorrow."

...