Disclaimers: Ben 10, Ben 10: Alien Force, and their respective characters belong to Man of Action
Author's Note: For the multi-talented Eternal-Night-Ride aka Kapaychan on deviantart who got me to fall head-over-heels in love with the Allie ship. This was her birthday gift, which I am only just now posting. Because I am fail like that 8C
Obvious
"Impossible to win or please."
He hates being stuck in this weak, fleshy, human body.
He hates how susceptible it is to fatigue, how the expressive features make his discomfort so obvious, how the hormones and internal chemicals cause him to find what had been the simplest of tasks (such as lying) stressful, and how prone it is to developing these inconvenient cravings and needs.
He does not have time for these distractions. He has more important things to worry about! Take now, for example. Instead of remaining in his makeshift laboratory here on Earth, working on his latest experiment with his once legendary focus, he finds himself utterly restless and in dire need of chili fries.
Worse still, he also finds himself drawn to this particular Earth female with short dark hair who happens to be the master of an annoying little galvanic mechamorph derivative.
From the safety of shrubberies and plant life, he watches her, his pale features twisted in a scowl, seemingly unable to tear his eyes away as the Earth girl smiles and makes the most wondrous joyous sound. He continues to observe as she gives the mechamorph an affectionate pat on the head while murmuring praises such as "Good boy, Ship," as if the derivative had the necessary intellect to understand.
His lips twists into a sneer as he contemplates her wasted effort while his fingers dig into the bag of chili fries he managed to procure earlier. A handful of the greasy, disgusting, but undeniably satisfying slop disappear into his mouth before he realizes she's looking at his general direction.
Erratum: She's looking at him.
Addendum: She's heading his way.
Once again, he is reminded how much he hates this weak, fleshy, human body because it suddenly refuses to respond to his command to turn on his heels and flee. Instead, he remains rooted to the spot, one hand awkwardly clutching the bag of transfat soaked food, the other still stupidly positioned near his mouth.
The Earth female is staring at him, arms folded across her chest in suspicion, her lips pressed into a thin line of mild anger. The little galvanic mechamorph lights up with each mechanical growl it makes at him.
"Have you been spying on me?"
Twitch."No."
"You're lying." It is more than an observation it is a statement of fact that she makes.
Twitch."You are clearly mistaken, you ignorant Earth female! I have no need to study an irrelevant specimen of your specie!" He suddenly darts his eyes away from her reproachful glare, distinctly aware of the color tingeing his cheeks.
"You're as bad at lying as Ben is," she scoffs.
He snaps his head back towards her, red eyes absolutely livid, the earlier embarrassed heat now burning into scarlet fury. Bad enough that he's stuck in this weak, inferior, fleshy human body. But to be sub-par at something on the same level as his genetic originator? He will not stand for this insult! He opens his mouth to snap at her, to hurl insults at her, and not because he fears what her galvanic mechamorph is capable of transforming into but because his obvious intellectual superiority should be enough to render her into a quivering pile of sobbing Earth female.
But before he is even able to utter a single word, the Earth female with the dark hair once again makes that beautiful lilting melody and it renders him confused and silent.
Mostly confused.
"But you blush more prominently than he does. Must be because you're a lot paler than he is," she proposes a hypothesis this time, and does so with a tilt of her head. "So, which one are you? A crazy fan-boy trying to dig up information on his ex? Or are you with that biased television reporter trying to stir up trouble?" Her eyes narrow with suspicion once again, and the frequency her pet vibrates turns menacing.
He clears his throat, "I am neither! I am Albedo of the Galvans and whatever my activities are, they of none of your concern, Earth female!"
"I'm Julie Yamamoto of Bellwood," she mimics, taking his grandiose introduction in stride, as if his actions were commonplace. As if she's seen and been through far stranger things. "And when I happen to be the subjectof your activities, you can bet it is very much my concern. Why have you been spying on me?"
The Earth female makes no movement, no command, but the mechamorph is suddenly enveloping her in a gloriously complex suit of mechanized armor. The very sight sends inspiration flooding through his mind and he is suddenly very, veryeager to return to his make-shift laboratory to continue his work.
Twitch. "I repeat: I am notspying on you!" He sharply turns on his heels, ready to bolt when he hears the high-pitch keen of a blaster charging up.
"Ship, what did I say about blowing things up?" Her voice is gentle in its chiding of the mechamorph. A series of beeps and mechanical squeaks follow, and the charging sound silences.
He glances over his shoulder to find a net being flung at him.
Addendum: A net is now covering him and pinning him to the grassy ground.
The Earth female kneels in front of his struggling form and asks, "Last chance before I let Ship play fetch with your face. Why were you spying on me?"
He struggles against his bonds, an obviously futile effort given his weak, fleshy human body. Inwardly, he curses the inferiority of his genetic originator's specie before finally admitting, "I am not aware of my reasons for observing you."
There was no twitch this time.
She still does not seem satisfied enough with his answer to free him because she follows up with, "How long have you been in that human body?"
He blinks up at her then scowls, "Far too long for my liking. How can you humans stand to feed on such filth? How can you humans exist with such pathetically low levels of intellect?"
"Hey, this human's pathetically low level of intellect managed to get what she wants from you just fine," she reminds him with a smile.
Normally, he would have laughed at her attempt to defend her specie's honor. Except something about her quiet confidence make him fall silent. That she still has him tied and pinned to the ground also helps her case.
"Perhaps. But if I were in my true form, I would have wiped the floor with you! Intellectually speaking of course, because only barbarians resort to brute force to solve their problems."
"Right. And that's why, when you first found yourself in your predicament, your first course of action was to try to kill Ben?"
Twitch."No."
He truly, truly hates being stuck in this weak, fleshy, and inconveniently expressive human body.