Steelcode, who owns Sage, asked for this one. Here you go, Amigo! Enjoy! :)
Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. I only own Rachel and Sasha.
Family's Got Your Back
Ben grunted as he hit the ground, his Omnitrix timing out and making him turn back from XLR8 into his human form. He glanced up to see Vilgax glaring down at him. "My greatest enemy is finally at my mercy," the tentacled being gloated, his arms pumped up and ready to do some major damage.
The young man weakly got up, but fell to one knee, unable to lift his arm to activate the Omnitrix again. He looked up as Vilgax smirked and raised his arms, about to strike the final blow.
Suddenly, a large wolf jump in between them and howled at Vilgax. Usually, a wolf howl wouldn't have done more than annoy the villain, but this was no ordinary wolf howl. The sheer force of the howl sent the tentacled alien flying backwards and into a brick wall, knocking him out cold.
The wolf then stood proudly before transforming into a fifteen-year-old boy. Some of the other Plumbers gathered around. "Alright! Way to go, kid!" One of them said.
"Nice job," said another.
"Tennyson would be a pancake if you hadn't jumped in to save him," a third said.
The boy frowned at that last one. "Hey, he was doing alright," he said. "And I didn't see you guys jump in to help."
"Because we saw you had it covered," said the first one.
Ben said nothing, but he was upset and his pride was bruised. Bad enough that he almost got his butt handed to him by Vilgax, but what really took the cake was he had to be saved by a young rookie who apparently could shape-shift, though he had to admit, the boy did have some serious powers.
He got up, gritting his teeth against his injuries before taking stock of the area. It was a mess, almost like a destroyed battlefield.
"Oh, yeah, you made a mess, Tennyson," said the second Plumber. "Nothing like this young man. He doesn't need a fancy watch to stop a villain."
"Guys, stop," the boy said, now looking a bit bothered. "Vilgax caused all this damage, not Ben."
"I don't need a rookie to stand up for me, kid," Ben said, his voice tight with anger. "And if these guys think you're so much better at fighting these villains than I am, then perhaps they don't need me around."
With that, Ben turned and left, ignoring the pain he felt. "I'll take care of my wounds at the Mansion," he decided to himself.
Sage frowned and glared at the Plumbers. "Man, no wonder my family doesn't like a lot of you," he said. "You just cause trouble."
"What do you mean?" The first Plumber asked.
The boy gave them a look. "You've given my aunt enough trouble and have caused trouble for quite a few of my aunts and uncles," he said. "No wonder they prefer to stay home sometimes."
Rook came up to them. "Where's Ben?" He asked.
"He left, Uncle Rook," Sage replied. "Because these guys wouldn't stop talking bad about him and praising me in front of him."
The Revonnahgander glared at the three Plumbers, who looked uncomfortable now. "And Ben felt that because of these three bullying him that perhaps the Plumbers don't need him around?" He asked.
The young man nodded. "That's exactly what he said," he said.
Rook looked at the three. "Back to base. Now," he said sternly before looking at Sage. "Sage, will you go find Ben? Hopefully, he's at the Mansion."
"You got it, Uncle Rook," the boy agreed, shifting to his wolf form and taking off, following Ben's scent.
At the Mansion, Ben finished tending to his wounds and went down to the kitchen were Rachel was making fried chicken, lima beans, mashed potatoes, and fresh rolls for dinner. She looked up as she saw the young man come in and from the look on his face, she could tell it hadn't been a good day for him. "Another bad day?" She asked gently.
"You know it," the hero replied, sighing as he sat down. "It was bad enough that Vilgax had me down and was about to strike a final blow, but then came a bigger embarrassment."
Rachel turned to him, sensing this was a sore topic. "What happened?" She asked.
"I was rescued by a young boy," he said. "A boy that with just one move took out Vilgax."
The young woman's eyes widened and her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "With just one move?" She asked to clarify. "That's astounding."
Whampire came in, having caught the last bit of the conversation. "A new Plumber?" He asked.
"Seems like it," Ben said. "The others couldn't stop praising him. And they did it right in front of me."
His phone pinged and he pulled it out to see there was a video and he watched as the same kid pulled his shape-shifting ability and take down wooden dummies and other obstacles cleanly and accurately. "Man, this kid is good, way better than me," the hero said, a note of jealousy in his voice.
"But there's only one Ben 10," Rachel said. "Those Plumbers are lately becoming less and less appreciative of you and how you've saved their behinds countless times."
"She's right," Whampire said. "Even some of the Magisters are getting fed up with some of their subordinates."
Ben shook his head. "Sometimes I hate answering their call for help, because I always get ridiculed about the mess made and how I almost always fail to stop the bad guys," he said, now feeling more jealous of the boy who the Plumbers all thought highly of. "This guy could take care of any villain out there."
Just then, the front door opened and someone walked in. "Hello! Anybody home?" A voice called out questioningly.
"In the kitchen, Sage," Rachel called out in return, smiling as she saw her nephew come in.
"Hi, Aunt Rachel. Hi, Ben. Hi, Dad," the boy said.
Ben looked up and had to do a double take. There was the boy from earlier and he was now hugging Rachel, who smiled and returned his hug. "How was school?" The young woman asked him.
"It was great today, Aunt Rachel. Hey, can I use the Oriental vases in the hallway for my next project? I'm going to try and do an Oriental collage."
"Okay," she said. "Just please be careful. And if you need them moved, ask one of us to help you with that."
"Will do, thanks," Sage said, grinning before going over to Whampire, hugging him. "Dad, there's an awards banquet on Friday at seven p.m. for the students at the college and I was invited and told I could bring guests. Would you and Mom be interested?"
"Of course, son," Whampire said with a smile. "That sounds like fun."
Sage looked at Rachel. "What do you think, Aunt Rachel?"
She checked the calendar. "Ah, looks like everyone will be home by then," she said.
"Then I'd like everyone to come," the boy said.
"I'll be sure to spread the word," Rachel promised with a smile.
Meanwhile, Ben was looking at Sage with shock. "Wait, you're...you're Whampire and Sasha's new son that I've heard about?" He asked.
Sage nodded. "Yeah, I'm Sage," he said. "I've heard a lot about you too and have been wanting to meet you. I didn't know you'd be here today."
Whampire smiled. "Then you both didn't realize it yet then, hmm?" He asked with a chuckle.
Rachel smiled too. "Sage, Ben is a member of our family too," she said. "He's practically my brother."
The boy's eyes widened. "You mean...the famous Ben 10...is my uncle?" He asked in shock.
"And the boy the Plumbers were praising...is my nephew?" Ben asked, also in shock.
"That's right," Whampire replied, chuckling again.
Sage was first to recover and looked apologetic. "I didn't mean to steal your thunder, Uncle Ben, but you looked liked you really needed help," he said.
"I did," Ben admitted. "And no sweat, kid. I owe you one, cause if you hadn't jumped in to help me, Vilgax would have injured me badly."
"Still, I don't like how those Plumbers were belittling you," the boy said, frowning. "Do they do that a lot?"
"More than we care to count," Rachel said, also frowning.
"Perhaps I should ask Father to scare those Plumbers that like speaking badly about our family and belittling the young man who has saved the world countless times," Whampire said, his voice carrying a hint of anger.
"He's already gone to do so," came Sasha's voice as she came in. "He heard everything and is on his way to Plumber Headquarters right now."
"Oh, boy," Rachel said. "One thing you never want to do is anger a Vladat and the quickest way to do that is to speak poorly of his family."
Sage looked worried. "Grandpa won't hurt them, will he?" He asked.
"No, just maybe scare them out of their skins," Whampire said.
"Good," Sasha said, hands on her hips. "Because I don't like it when they belittle Ben either, and right in front of his nephew too."
Ben smiled before looking at Sage. "Maybe you and I can train together, Sage, and we can team up again sometime," he said.
Sage looked surprised. "You mean it? For real?" He asked, a smile coming to his face.
"I mean it," Ben said, smiling again before looking at Sasha and Whampire. "If your mom and dad are okay with that?"
"Of course," Whampire said, smiling.
"It's fine with me," Sasha said. "Just be careful."
"We will, Mom," Sage promised before hugging Ben, who returned the hug. "And thanks, Uncle Ben."
"You're welcome, Sage, and thank you," the hero said. "It's nice to know that my family's got my back, no matter what."
"Very true," Rachel said with a smile as Sasha and Whampire nodded in agreement.
Please leave a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418