An XLR8ing Story

Disclaimer: I do not own Ben 10 or any of their aliens.

Summary: Ben, Gwen, and Grandpa Max Tennyson find a swooned and wounded XLR8 at the Rust Bucket and take it in. What's its personality?

Message from Me: Hi! This is my fourth fanfic! I'm still working on my first and second and my third didn't work out too well. XP Anyway, I hope I get a few good reviews! (And, yes, I'm a big XLR8 fan.)

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Original POV (Outside of a Game Store)

"HA!" Ben gloated, "I beat you by a landslide!"

"You only beat me because I was off guard, dweeb!" Gwen countered.

Grandpa Max tried to calm down, "Now, now, kids; either way, we need to get back on the road."

They walked to the Rust Bucket, listening to Ben rejoicing about his latest victory in a game.

"And you-" Ben began to rejoice again while laughing.

"Ben, you really should-" Gwen started to say.

"And you had that face on!" Ben interrupted, not listening to Gwen.

"Ben, look!" Grandpa Max demanded, pointing in front of him.

Ben looked at the Rust Bucket and was astonished at what he saw… well, more like ecstatic.

"Whoa! It's a real XLR8!" Ben shouted, running up to the unconscious alien. When he was close enough to breathe on its face, he asked, "You think we could teach it some tricks?"

"Ben! How could you think that?!" Gwen complained, "The poor thing's hurt!"

"Gwen's right, Ben, we should take care of it," Grandpa Max supported.

Ben groaned in disappointment.

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Inside the Rust Bucket

"How do you think the XLR8 got hurt?" Ben asked Gwen.

"Beats me," Gwen answered, "there's nothing about your aliens in my laptop."

"I've finished covering it in bandages," Grandpa Max told them, walking up to them, "The medicine should work very well."

Gwen looked over at the unconscious XLR8. "I wonder what could've happened to it…" Gwen wondered.

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Next Day (Noon)

"Man, the XLR8's been out cold for hours! I doubt it's alive," Ben whined.

"Just because you're bored doesn't mean you can accuse someone of being dead, dweeb!" Gwen countered.

Grandpa Max was busy preparing his usual strange foods during their argument. "You two really should be quiet for at least five minutes." "I know it's not possible though…" he thought to himself.

They all heard a moan from the back of the Rust Bucket. Ben's face lit up at the sound, and he ran for the couch.

Indeed, the XLR8 was waking up. Ben was up close and could see it trying to move.

When the XLR8 had finally woken up, it was startled… and so were the Tennysons.

The XLR8 didn't speak. "Can it speak?" Gwen questioned anyone. "Hey, I can speak in XLR8 form so maybe this XLR8 can!" Ben calculated.

Ben turned back to the XLR8, whose mask was still covering its face. "Hi there, I'm Ben Tennyson! That's my ugly cousin, Gwen, and my grandpa. Who are you?" Ben introduced.

Five minutes had passed since Ben introduced them. "Maybe it doesn't understand what you're saying," Gwen said, "Not many people understand half the things you're saying."

"Hey!" Ben complained.

"I-I understand…" they heard a voice say.

They eyed the XLR8, whose mask was taken off. "I-I understand," the XLR8 repeated, "but I don't know who I am."

"Huh?" Ben questioned, "How can you NOT know who you are?"

The XLR8 quivered and covered its face with its mask.

"You have to be gentler, Ben!" Gwen lectured, "Try it like this."

Gwen walked up to the XLR8 and softly inquired, "What do you mean you don't know how you are?"

The XLR8 shook its head, slowly.

"Maybe it has amnesia," Grandpa Max guessed.

Gwen turned her head back and nodded, "It probably does."

"Hey, Grandpa, can we keep him until he regains his memory?" Ben asked.

Grandpa looked at the XLR8: its legs, arms, and tail were bandaged up and it was trembling.

Grandpa Max sighed and answered, "Fine."

"All right!" Ben cheered, "We get our own pet XLR8!"

"Ben! You don't call an alien a pet!" Gwen shouted.

Ben pretended that he didn't hear what Gwen said. "We should give him a name. How about…"

"Tempo," Gwen finished, "We'll call her Tempo."

The XLR8 showed its face and lifted up its head. Did the name sound familiar to her?

"What makes you so sure it's a girl?" Ben asked Gwen, "How do you know it's not a boy?"

Gwen answered, "It's girls' intuition. Now, let's see…"

They all heard a rumble from Tempo. "Um, sorry," Tempo apologized, "I don't remember the last time I ate."

"Here, why don't you try some of my roasted mealworms?" Grandpa Max recommended.

He handed the bowl over to Tempo; Tempo stared at the bowl and began eating it.

Ben and Gwen's faces were disgusted at how fast Tempo was eating.

"He likes it that much?" Ben asked her. "She's not a human being, remember?" Gwen reminded him.

Tempo completed the bowl in seconds and tried to stand up. The attempt failed as it ended in her falling back onto the couch.

"You shouldn't try to push yourself so hard!" Gwen warned, "You'll open your wounds again!"

Gwen rushed to tighten the bandages on Tempo while Grandpa Max took the bowl back.

"Man, why do you get to name him?" Ben complained.

"I told you she's a girl. Do you not the difference between a girl and boy?" Gwen countered.

"I don't know the difference between a girl and boy ALIEN," Ben reasoned.

"T-the difference i-is in tail length…" Tempo answered, "Females have a foot longer than males…"

Tempo had much fear in her voice; it was all shaky and hesitant.

"Hah! See? Tempo's a girl!" Gwen yelled.

Ben pointed out, "But you don't know the length of a male's tail!"

Tempo answered again, "A male's tail is a foot and a half long."

Gwen took out a ruler and measured Tempo's tail. "Two and a half feet long! She's a girl!" Gwen triumphed.

Ben made a frustrated face and stomped back toward the table.

"It seems pretty fair, doesn't it, Ben- you get to transform into ten aliens and I get an alien," Gwen pointed out.

Ben showed an unhappy sneer and turned his head toward the window.

Gwen looked back at Tempo and noticed that she was sleeping again.

"Who knew they slept like a cat?" Gwen thought to herself.

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Okay, so there's the first one! I'll try to update soon! I wonder if there are any XLR8 fans like me… (The difference between male and female aliens isn't true.) Okay, next time will be "Vilgax Again." See you all then! (And by they way Tempo is sleeping, she curled herself up with her tail.) (I think there are some errors but i'm too lazy to correct. XP Sorry! Tell me if there are any!)