Okay, Christmas is almost here and this story came to me. So here is one of my early Christmas gifts to all of you. :)

Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man Of Action. Ultimate Spiderman belongs to Marvel I only own Rachel, Amy, Tina, Sergeant Williams, and Sunny. Also, part of this story was inspired by the Disney movie "The Fox And The Hound", which I don't own.

A Ray Of Sunshine For Christmas

Sunny ran as her foster father chased her through town. She had finally gotten out of the room he had kept her locked in and run away, but he had heard the alarm and pursued her.

The twelve-year-old kept running as she watched people watch her worriedly, but none stepped in to help. She kept her eyes open for the police station, but that was on the other side of town and she was too far away. But then, the Grant Mansion came into view and she tried to run up the hill, getting very tired as she managed to get to the Mansion, but could barely move until her foster father grabbed her.

"You run away?! After I took you in?!" He shouted at her before throwing her at the mansion door.

But instead of hitting the solid oak, the door opened and Sunny fell into strong arms wrapped with what looked like tape.

Snare-Oh had seen the trouble on the computers that monitored the outside of the Mansion and gone to the door, catching the young girl that had been thrown towards the door. Wrapping his arms around her protectively, he unleashed some more tendrils and glared at the man standing before him, who was beginning to look a bit ashen.

"You dare harm a child?" Snare-Oh asked in a hardened voice that showed just how angry he was.

His tendrils shot forward, making the man back up fast before a young woman showed up wielding a Proto-Tool.

"Get off my property!" She said angrily as she fired at the ground near the man's feet, getting him to book it fast.

While she was chasing him off her property, Snare-Oh took Sunny inside and tightened his hold on her as she squirmed to get free. "Shh, settle down," he said soothingly. "You're safe here."

She looked up at him and to her amazement, she didn't feel afraid of him. He had certainly given her foster father a scare along with that woman with that gun. She then felt the mummy pick her up and carry her up some stairs into a bathroom and he set her down on the counter while one tendril grabbed a first-aid kit and another grabbed a washcloth. Sunny had a feeling this mummy wasn't someone in costume, not with the way those tendrils moved like extra hands.

A few minutes later, Snare-Oh had finished bandaging the girl's bruised and cut arms and applying some of Wildvine's fast-healing salve on the bruises on the girl's face. "There we go," he said. "Do you feel better?"

He sensed her uncertainty, but was pleased when she nodded in answer to his question. "What is your name, sweetie?" He asked.

Fear instantly filled her expression and she flinched at his question. Immediately, Snare-Oh began rubbing her back to help calm her down. "Don't be afraid," he said soothingly. "I'm not going to hurt you."

While he was trying to calm her down, Snare-Oh noticed something very alarming. As he was rubbing her back, he could feel her spine and her shoulder blades sticking out from her body. He then gently took hold on her arm and felt the skin was stretched tightly over her arm bones. He realized with a start this poor girl was starving. He turned to put away the first aid kit.

"Let me put this away and I'll take you downstairs to get you something to eat," he said as he put everything back in its proper place.

He didn't see Sunny looked very frightened at that statement or see her quickly jump down from the counter and slip away. When he turned around and found her gone, he quickly looked into the hallway and saw her running into one of the rooms and closing the door. Her behavior alarmed him.

"Why would she bolt away like that?" He asked himself.

Meanwhile, Sunny didn't realize the room was occupied until she saw a flash of green and saw some slime moving towards her. Now beginning to panic, she slipped out of the room and ran down the hall to another room that had a strange hole in between the wall and floor and she quickly moved to it, thinking it was a hiding spot, but when she reached behind her, her arm felt only air and she fell backwards with a scream.

Maybe only a minute later, she heard a strange whipping noise and fell onto something that seemed bouncy. She then heard something crawling toward her and looked up to see a familiar figure she had seen in the papers from the foster homes she had been in.

"Spiderman?" she asked curiously.

He chuckled gently. "You bet," he said. "You okay?"

She nodded and he sat down, gently lifting her to sit beside him, just barely managing to hide his alarm when he felt her bones sticking out underneath the clothes she wore. Snare-Oh wasn't kidding. This girl is starving, he thought to himself.

"Hey, when was the last time you ate, kiddo?" he asked gently.

She instantly looked scared and he gently grabbed her arm to keep her from running away. "Easy," he said, his voice still gentle. "Why are you afraid of a question like that?"

She didn't answer, but he had a feeling he knew. "Did you not get enough to eat at your foster homes?" he asked, hoping some gentle prodding would get him an answer.

She looked at him. "He…he'd make me…throw up…what I'd…eaten," she said hesitantly.

That made Spiderman feel sick himself. No wonder this girl was scared when they mentioned she looked hungry. Her foster father forcing her to basically become anorexic. The web-swinging hero shook his head at that.

"That would never happen here," he said to her. "The folks here don't do that to anyone and the owner certainly doesn't like to see anyone go hungry."

Sunny looked at him uncertainly and just then, the webbing dissolved on them and Spiderman caught the girl and shot out a web line and lowered them both down the tunnel. A hand suddenly came up underneath them. "Hello, Spiderman," said a voice.

"Hey, Way Big," said the hero as he landed in the giant alien's white hand. Sunny looked at the giant and clung to Spiderman. "It's okay. They won't hurt you."

Ultimate Way Big came over and saw the young girl looking afraid and seeing Spiderman comfort her. He remembered when the web-slinger had come down to their quarters to see them after the kids had told him about the giant aliens. A friendship had been instant and now the bigger giant saw Sunny look up at Way Big curiously before stepping back and feeling something gently nudge her knees from behind, which made her fall back into the bigger giant's hands.

"Is this girl another one needing a good home?" Ultimate Way Big asked.

Spiderman nodded. "Yeah, along with a lot of TLC," he said. "Her foster father Snare-Oh scared off was forcing her to become anorexic."

Both giant aliens growled at that, making Sunny jump in alarm, but the giant holding her gently stroked her head with one finger to calm her down. "It might be best for her to see Frankenstrike then before she eats something," said Way Big. "After so long without enough food, well, her body might not take it well."

"Good point," said Spiderman as he accepted Sunny from Ultimate Way Big. "I'll get her up to him."

Both giants nodded and watched the two head out before calling Rachel on the communications. The owner of the Grant Mansion was putting away her Proto-Tool after chasing that foster father off her property all the way to the police station where Sergeant Williams had immediately arrested him and Rachel had returned home wondering how the young girl Snare-Oh had rescued was doing. She now answered the communications and listened to what the giant brothers told her.

"He was forcing her to starve?" She asked in shock before looking angry. "That…that…vulture!"

Way Big nodded. "Spiderman is taking her to Frankenstrike right now," he said.

"Good," said Rachel. "That poor girl. It's going to be a bit before she gets back to a healthy weight."

"With your cooking, that won't be long," said Ultimate Way Big with a smile.

She smiled at the compliment. "I'm not the only cook around here," she said, as the To'kustar brothers were also good cooks, along with Rachel's sister, Sasha.

Spiderman then came into the kitchen. "Frankenstrike was wondering if you could whip up some tomato soup for the kid," he said.

Rachel nodded immediately. "By the way, what is her name?" she asked.

"Sunny," said Snare-Oh as he came in with the girl in his arms. "She just told us a moment ago."

About two hours later, Sunny was sitting in the living room, feeling better from the tomato soup she had eaten and from the kindness of the aliens, Spiderman, and Rachel. Spiderman suddenly appeared in front of her, hanging from a web line. "Well, you look better," he said with a chuckle.

She giggled. "I feel better," she said.

Just then, another woman came in and she was holding a small alien that looked just like Snare-Oh, who came in also. "Sunny," he said. "We have some news for you."

She looked curious and the small alien jumped out of the woman's arms and onto the couch beside Sunny and hugged her. "My wish came true!" She said. "I've got a big sister for Christmas!"

Sunny looked confused and the woman came forward and sat beside Sunny. "Sunny, my name is Amy," she said with a smile. "A policeman who is a good friend of the family called us about giving you a good home."

The twelve-year-old looked at her and then the pieces fell into place, especially when she remembered the small alien calling her 'big sister'. "You mean…?" she wanted to ask, but then looked down.

Snare-Oh came closer and gently tilted Sunny's chin up with a hand. "Yes, sweetie. Amy and I have adopted you as our daughter and Tina has adopted you as her older sister," he said.

Sunny was both surprised and shocked. "Really?" she asked.

Spiderman chuckled a little. "You deserve a good family, Sunny," he said. "And this family is one of the best."

Tears ran down Sunny's face as she hugged them all.

Rachel smiled as she watched from the entryway and then noticed the Christmas decorations seemed to glow much brighter with the happiness in the living room.

"This is going to be one awesome Christmas," she said to herself as she saw Sasha come in with some more decorations.

"Found some more at the store," she said, looking a bit sheepish.

Rachel smiled. "It's okay," she said. "By the way, we have a new niece."

Sasha nodded. "Whampire called me and told me while I was shopping," she said.

"Auntie Sasha!" Tina cried out happily and hugged her aunt, who chuckled and hugged her back before the small alien helped her put the decorations in the living room to put up in a bit. Sasha then welcomed Sunny warmly and pulled something out of her purse and gave it to the girl. It was an ornament of a cute kitten that made Sunny smile.

"How did you know I liked kittens?" She asked curiously.

"I didn't," said Sasha with a smile. "But it was too cute to pass up."

"Do you want to hang it on the tree?" asked Snare-Oh.

Sunny nodded and let her new parents and little sister guide her over to the tree where she hung her ornament right where all could see it. The tree lights seemed to shine very bright where she hung her ornament, making everyone smile as they eagerly looked forward to Christmas.

Aunt May, who had arrived a few days ago, also smiled. "Peter," she said, smiling at her nephew, who had told her a few days ago about his secret identity. "I think this is going to be the best Christmas I've ever had."

"Me too, Aunt May," he said. "Especially for Sunny."

"She's a ray of sunshine for Christmas," said the older woman wisely.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," said Rachel as the others nodded in agreement.

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GoldGuardian2418