Standard disclaimers apply.

Hello, world! I have no knowledge of how Ben 10 fanfics work. And, as we all know, sometimes the actual fandoms are different from the way fanfiction will perceive them to be. Take Young Justice, for example, Robin, the detached and reserved, esoteric fighter we all know him to be, is now an accident-prone emotional wreck that always is playing the role of damsel in distress. Not that I don't love both variations, but, as I'm sure you've gathered, they're a little different from one another. So I shall rely on the show for a rubric as to how the characters may act or interact and leave the rest up to my imagination. So if I'm wrong, blame my horrible memory. This chapter begins sort of betwixt the end of Alien Force, and after Eunice has encountered Ben. Slightly AU.

Chapter I

His head was throbbing at ungodly speeds, his brain taking on a pulse of his own. His vision was transitioning from black to white, but he settled on gray after a time. He didn't know where he was, everything surrounding him was like a far off dream, as he was lightly existing at the moment. He was barely gripping everything else, but the bursts of pain in his mind brought him back to his putrid human form. However, as moments went by, he could feel himself drifting off again. A forceful hand brought him back to reality once more with a gentle tug. This time he was finally able to break the cycle, existing fully within the white.

"W-Wha-" he barely was able to sputter before his eyes met with the owner of the hand. It was a girl in a pale pink tank top and alabaster shorts. She beamed vibrantly at him once she realized he was conscious. The first thing he really took note of from the strangely cheery girl was that she was human. Skin a pale citrus color, lips a faint scarlet, eyes jaded with a certain happiness, hair raging in a sallow flame atop her head. She was a rather attractive human. That caused a thought in him to spur. He looked down at himself. His skin was still that same color, meaning he was still human from the time he blacked out to the time he woke up. He was sitting in a ghostly white chair. In fact, the whole room around him was completely emerged in white.

"Azmuth! He's awake!" she called over her shoulder. That's when he started to panic. All memories prior to this experience suddenly flooded his already overloaded mind. He remembered Vilgax double crossing him and the submarine sinking – he had swam to safety, some strange island that was far from deserted then – then – then nothing. Everything else was blank. What was he doing here? More importantly, how did Azmuth find him? He'd certainly be put back in the Null Void the moment Azmuth laid eyes on him…so what was he doing in this white room instead of a cell?

"Hmm…" came a familiar voice as he noticed the Gavlan at the girl's feet, "What do you think we should do with him, Eunice?"

So, Eunice was the girl's name? Wait – Eunice. That kind of reminded him of…

"I thought you were just going to put him in the Null Void."

"Hmm…" he smiled, "You're right. I was going to do that, but…" he turned to Albedo and spoke in a harsher manner, "Show me your wrist." After a pause, he followed the order and rolled up his sleeve revealing just a red band around his wrist.

"Hmm…it seems he has no control over the Omnitrix or Ultramatrix…He's not much of a threat in Ben's body…"

"Then what shall we do with him?"

"We could destroy him. Or we could just put him in the Null Void, as you said. Or…" he smirked, "We could make him useful…"

"Useful how?"

"Test, experiments, trails. I want to know how he still stays in his default form without the watch. Maybe this red band actually does have some meaning. I'm a Galvan, after all. This is the kind of stuff we take care of. Also, he has the red and white blood cells of a human. We could definitely concoct something that would benefit that race. Maybe find a cure for that pesky cancer. Or – hmm – well, the possibilities are endless, really."

"Will he be hurt?" the question seemed irrelevant to both Galvans. Why would she care about his pain?

"Well, that is another question I think these tests will answer. But for now, that is none of your concern." She nodded, and glanced down at the white tile, "But since you seem to already be more affiliated with this case than most of my other assistants, I will trust you with the task of watching him. See to it he does not escape." He ordered, then exited the room. A chilling silence fell over the two. She slid against the wall until she fell into a sitting position, with her hands clasped around her knees.

"Why – why did you ask that?"

"Ask…what?" she questioned tentatively, her voice unsteady.

"If I would be hurt or not. Why would you concern yourself with something so…so…"

"So important as another creature's pain? I don't know. I have a severe case of empathy, I guess." She giggled. This caused a light smile to rise upon his lips. Slightly, as he told himself later, he slightly smiled.

"So, you're an empath?"

"Um…I'm not sure. Maybe an empath is somewhere in my – I mean. It could be in my…um, DNA."

"I see." He nodded, his eyebrow rose dubiously, this cryptic statement piquing his curiosity – Eunice, Eunice – Why did that name sound so familiar? "So, Eunice," he tested it on his tongue to see if that would spark a discovery, "Where are you from?"

The girl might have been naively concerned with a prisoner's wellbeing, but she was not stupid. She knew where this conversation was headed.

"I could ask you the same question."

"You could…but you didn't. I asked you. So, Blondie, are you going to be a good hostess and share?"

"Eh. I guess it couldn't do that much harm if you know. I'm Gwen Tennyson's sister."

"Sister? I didn't know Gwendolyn had a sister."

"Well, we're kind of half-sisters. We share the same dad, but…" she looked faintly into the distance, making her inwardly pat herself on the back for her ingenious acting, "I wish we shared the same mom as well. My mom kind of…well, she's not around anymore. And her job wasn't exactly…savory. We moved around a lot when I was little. My dad wanted another family over mine. And my mom barely wanted me. And I…" her voice faked a crack, "I have no idea why I'm telling this to a complete stranger. Worse –a prisoner!" Something like concern emanated from his eyes. But after a moment, it was gone.

"Well, Eunice, if it's any consolation…I could tell you about my past."

"Really? You'd do that?"

"It seems only fair."

"I guess that's true…"

"Well, now, where to begin?" he sighed, as he began his tale.

AN:

Cliffy! And OMSG. I was checking out Eunice's wiki page – just to make sure I got all my facts right – and apparently I'm not the only one who realizes Eunice's marking on the back of her neck resembles that of the Pulse I'cie from Final Fantasy XIII. And yeah – Eunice is faking that story. For reasons that have to do with my main plot. Now, I'm not even sure I'm going to see this story through. That depends on reviews. And yeah, if anyone reads my YJ fics, I'm kind of thinking of dropping To Silence a Mockingbird even though I had SO many plot twists that were brilliant! Why? Because I only got one review last chapter and – eh – if no one's really reading it, then there's no point in writing it. I think the only demographic that was even reading in the first place were the fangirls that just love to distort Robin's original character design. Though, the story was supposed to be very serious, no fun and games – even though the first two chapters are dealing with Robin being de-aged – I think nobody read it because of that fact. ANYWAYS. I need to stop ranting. REVIEW!