This story is the sequel to guestsurprise's "Not All Mutants Are Evil." :)
Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. Salwa belongs to guestsurprise. I only own Rachel, April, and Bethany.
Not The Bully I Once Was
When she heard Salwa had headed out in the rain, Bethany's mother instincts took over and she was determined to find her niece and apologize to her. She saw Bullfrag come out and he was ready to go into the storm. She grabbed her raincoat. "Honey, I'm going with you," she said.
"Beth, it's raining out," he said in concern.
"And our niece ran out into that rain because of me," she said. "I'll trudge through that rain with you until we find her and I can make amends with her."
Bullfrag had to smile. His fiancée had changed a lot since coming to the Mansion and they had become parents and one thing she had gained was determination to show that she wasn't a bully like she once was. "Okay," he said.
Rachel came out, holding April in her arms. The four year old looked at her parents. "Mommy, where are you and Daddy going?" She asked.
"We're going to find your cousin, sweetie," Bethany replied, giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead and glancing up at Rachel, who nodded.
"I'll watch over her," she said. "Find Salwa and bring her home safely. This rain is only the beginning. There's a nasty storm heading this way, which means I'll soon have to put the mansion on lockdown until the storm passes."
Bullfrag and Bethany knew that a lockdown during a storm meant that the house would be secured until the storm passed. But no one could get in or out when the full lockdown was in place. "Can you hold off the lockdown until we find Salwa?" Bullfrag asked.
"I'll do my best," Rachel replied. "But you two will have to work fast."
Bethany had an idea. "Does Salwa have a Plumber badge?" She asked.
Bullfrag pulled out his and checked. "She does," he said. "And it's on. She's somewhere in the forest, by the waterfall."
"Be careful out there," Rachel said to them in caution.
"We will," Bethany replied before she and Bullfrag ran out into the storm, racing for the waterfall, careful not to get close to the trees as the rain got worse.
Salwa was struggling to fly as her wings got wet from the rain and it was coming down harder, making her strain to flap her wings, which tired her out and she tried to land, managing to duck into the trees and keep clear of the branches blowing in the wind. She finally landed on the ground, but her wings were so wet that she couldn't lift them and she was exhausted. "Salwa!" She heard someone call her name, but she didn't recognize who it was.
"Salwa!" A deeper voice called out before she heard rustling and looked behind her to see Bullfrag come out and he gasped when he saw her. "Salwa!" He said, running up to her. "Are you alright, kiddo?"
"Uncle Bullfrag," she said. "My wings."
He checked. "They're waterlogged, honey," he said. "Can you stand?"
She tried, but nearly fell down. Two arms caught her and tried to help her stay upright. "The storm's getting worse!" She heard Bethany say and she struggled, but was too tired to try and break free. She felt Bullfrag's arms come around her too.
"Salwa, hang onto us, kiddo," he said.
The three of them struggled to move quickly as the storm worsened. Bullfrag finally decided that they were going to make it unless he jumped. They'd have to be careful to not get hit by lightning. He looked and saw the storm was headed their way, but was still not close enough to reach them yet. "Beth, get on my back and help Salwa onto my back," he said. "I'm going to have to jump for the Mansion."
Without question, the brown-haired girl got on his back and with strength she didn't know she had, she grabbed Salwa and helped her up, placing the young girl between her and Bullfrag and grabbing onto her fiancée. "Okay, honey," she said.
With a croak, Bullfrag took a giant leap, landing outside the forest just as a bolt of lightning struck the ground just a few yards in front of them. Bethany and Salwa tightened their grip and Bullfrag immediately jumped again, landing this time at the Mansion steps and he ran to the door. It opened as soon as he reached the top stop. "Get in, quick!" Rachel called to them.
Bursting inside the Mansion, they heard the door slam shut and Rachel pressed the lockdown button, breathing a sigh of relief. "That was close," she said and turned to them. "Are you guys okay?"
Bullfrag and Bethany nodded, despite dripping water everywhere and Salwa looked down, her wings so waterlogged she couldn't hold them up. Rachel approached her. "Honey, are you okay?" She asked.
"No," Salwa said, turning to leave.
"Wait a minute, kid," Bullfrag said, extending his tongue, which wrapped around the winged girl. "Let Beth and I help you."
"I don't need help," she said in a tired voice.
"Salwa," Rachel said, her voice taking a firm, but still gentle, tone as she stood in front of the girl. "You need to let Bethany apologize to you and you do need help. You can barely lift your wings as it is."
The young girl went to protest, but her aunt held up a hand. "Sweetie, Bethany didn't mean to make you feel unwelcome and you have to remember, most of them don't know that your intended changed your appearance," she said, her voice gentler now. "But just as Bethany is not the bully she once was, you're not the mutant you once were."
Salwa looked down and felt Rachel grab her arm where the wound from the scissors was now red. "Let them help you," she said. "Give Bethany a chance. If she didn't care, she wouldn't have insisted on searching for you."
That surprised the winged girl and she felt Bullfrag gently take her arm and guide her to the living room. Bethany was there with towels and the first aid kit and she cautiously approached Salwa. "I'm sorry, honey," she said softly. "Sometimes…I jump to conclusions when I shouldn't."
Hearing the young woman admit that she had made a mistake stunned Salwa and she looked down, unsure of what to say as she then felt Bethany guide her to the fireplace where she could be warm while they helped her wings dry off. She winced. "Careful," she pleaded.
Bethany nodded, understanding that the girl's wings were delicate. "Maybe if you were on your back," she said. "That way, you wouldn't be straining to hold them up."
"Not a bad idea," Bullfrag said.
Salwa agreed as her waterlogged wings were hurting and so laid down on a large towel while the frog alien and his fiancée carefully dried off her wings. Soon, they had dried them to the point that they were still slightly damp, but at least Salwa didn't have to strain to hold them up. "Well, some time in front of the fire should dry your wings thoroughly," the alien said.
"Thanks," she replied softly.
Bethany then gently treated the cut from earlier. "Salwa, I really am sorry," she said. "It's true. I was a bully once. I didn't treat your aunt Rachel very well. But…that's not who I am anymore."
"How can a bully change?" Salwa asked.
"The same way you changed, honey," came the soft reply.
The teenager looked at her and Bethany smiled. "You were given a gift that changed you and you defected from the Forever Knights," she said. "In a way, I was given the same gift and did the same."
"How?" The young girl asked, now curious.
The older girl sighed softly. "I was betrayed by my family," she said. "And left to die. But your uncle Snare-Oh found me and brought me here and your uncle Frankenstrike treated me for some pretty bad injuries."
Seeing Salwa was listening, she continued. "Rachel didn't turn me away, despite the fact that I had bullied her. She instead let me stay and recover from my injuries and when she learned I had no place to go, she offered me a place to stay. And then… Bullfrag began helping me too."
"She changed into the woman I fell in love with," the frog alien said, hugging Bethany to him. "And then we became parents not too long after I asked her to marry me."
Salwa looked at them and looked down. "I think I was wrong too," she said softly.
Bethany shrugged. "I did kind of deserve it," she admitted before smiling. "But I know a way we can put it behind us. Bullfrag? Would you help, honey?"
"Of course, my water lily," he said.
The young girl looked curious and Rachel smiled, knowing very well what they were about to do. April was in her arms, watching with interest. Suddenly, Salwa shrieked as fingers wiggled into her wings and she felt back on the floor, laughing as Bethany tickled her wings and Bullfrag tickled her stomach. The playful tickle attack left the young girl squirming as she laughed, making the three adults and the young toddler smile too.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Salwa laughed.
"Think she's thinking about forgiving me and letting me show that I can be a good aunt?" Bethany asked.
"From that laugh? Almost," Bullfrag said and then grinned. "Rachel, how did I make you laugh when we first met?"
The owner of the Grant Mansion blushed, but then laughed. "Your tongue is murder," she said through her laughter.
Bullfrag grinned and shot out his tongue, wiggling it all over Salwa's stomach, making her shriek with laughter before she nearly made them deaf when he blew a big raspberry into her stomach. "Okay! Okay!" She cried out pleadingly.
Chuckling, he let her up and Bethany helped her sit up. "So, can you give me a chance to prove I can be a good aunt?" The former bully asked softly.
Salwa looked thoughtful. "Can you give me a chance to prove I can be a niece you can accept?" She asked, also softly.
"Oh, honey, I already accept you," Bethany said.
The teenager smiled. "Then yes," she replied.
Rachel and Bullfrag smiled and April clapped her hands happily, a smile on her face too as the two reconciled.
In case you're all wondering, April is Bullfrag and Bethany's daughter that they adopted when Bullfrag found her in a dumpster when she was just a month old.
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GoldGuardian2418