I don't own Ben 10

Chapter 1

Today was the last day of school and all was going well before Azmuth unexpectantly teleported on to Ben's desk. The whole class—apart from Ben and Gwen—freaked out. He demanded that Ben take off the Omnitrix, his tone gruff. Ben argued and tried to convince Azmuth to let him keep the watch, but he stood firm, not saying anything. Finally, Ben gave in. He hung his head and held out his wrist.

With a few twists of the face and a press of the button the Omnitrix expanded and he took it off. A few of Ben's tears hit the desk silently. With a snap of Azmuth's fingers the Omnitrix disappeared only to be replaced by another one. It looked different; it was slim, streamlined and white. The Omnitrix symbol was abstract but still recognizable. "Is this—" Ben started to ask but was interrupted.

"Indeed. Put it on." Azmuth said with a calm smile. Excitedly Ben put the new watch on, it conformed to his wrist creating a seamless seal. Ben gasped with astonishment, a wide, open mouthed grin on his face. He started to mess with it, quickly figuring out that it had a holographic display and worked by touch instead of spinning it. "You've earned it. Don't make me regret my decision." Azmuth warned. Ben nodded, too excited and happy to say anything. "I'll be off. Ben, Gwen, cover your eyes." He instructed. When they obeyed, they heard a sharp click before nothing at all.

Ben was the first to risk opening his eyes. He found that Azmuth had disappeared and the other students had returned to normal as if nothing had happened. "Gwen, you can open your eyes." Ben said. Gwen opened her eyes and looked around looking confused. When Gwen mouthed the question of where Azmuth went Ben just shrugged.

After school Grandpa Max picked up Ben and Gwen. "What happed to the Omnitrix?" Max asked.

"Azmuth showed up and gave me this new Omnitrix. It's so cool!" Ben said enthusiastically. He sat at the table so Gwen could sit in the passenger seat.

Gwen sat in the front seat and said. "I was surprised, knowing how he used to say he didn't want Ben to even have the Omnitrix. I thought for sure he was just going to take it away."

"Well, maybe he has more faith in Ben. Just so you know we are all stopping at Gwen's house because her mother and father asked us to stop by before we head out." Max said, knowing that there was something up with them.

"They did something weird last week, they took me to the doctors and had them take blood." Gwen said, turning around to face Ben. Ben just grunted, only half paying attention. He was too busy seeing what all this new Omnitrix had to offer. Without either kid noticing, a dark look fell over Max's face.

When they had gotten to Gwen's parents' house there were some boxes of Gwen's stuff out in the driveway. Ben saw that his mother was out packing it. Max parked on the side of the road and Gwen rushed out just to be met by a girl she didn't know. She was standing next to Gwen's mother. "Mom, who is she?" Gwen asked, her pace slowing to a walk. Loud, muffled yelling was coming from the house.

"Just wait here, I will go get Frank, he'll talk to you about everything." Natalie said, walking into the house. The shouting stopped and both fathers came out. Ben's was looking exasperated, his hair messy and face a blotchy red.

"Gwen, you are not our daughter. Max will be taking you to an orphanage." Frank said bluntly, his face expressionless and voice cold. "Dad, you will be taking Laura on vacion with you and Ben so she can get to know her cousin." Frank said, turning to Max without missing a beat. Gwen's heart sank along with her stomach. She dropped to her knees, crying, while the new girl picked up a suitcase and strutted over to the Rust Bucket.

"The Hell I am! You call us over here just to say that Gwen is not your daughter anymore and that she must go to an orphanage. You don't even explain any of this to us." Max said, his jaw clenched in anger. He could barely keep a hold of his own temper, but he also had to keep Ben from going alien. Max placed a hand on Ben's shoulder and whispered out the side of his mouth, "Not yet." Only Ben heard him.

All of the adults except for Ben's mother went in the house upon Max's insistence. Both Ben and his mother walked over to Gwen and knelt to comfort her. Ben's mother looked over at the new girl leaning against the RV, a sour expression on her face. She crossed her arms and scoffed as Gwen continued to cry. She turned her attention back to Gwen. "Don't worry, Gwen. Ben's father and I aren't going to let you get shipped off to an orphanage. You'll live with us in the guest room." She said soothingly, rubbing Gwen's back.

Ben's mother took another look at the blonde-haired girl watching Gwen cry and sighed. "I have to take your things to my house. It'll be okay darling, I promise." She said softly. She picked up the first box and headed to her house.

Ben looked at the mysterious girl, watching Gwen cry so coldly and felt a fire light in his stomach. He stormed over to her. "Hey!" He shouted, stopping right in front of her. "Who even are you anyways?"

"Laura, their daughter. Who are you?" She sneered, giving Ben a disapproving and disgusted look. Her eyes were a deep, emerald green and her long hair was honey blonde.

"Ben. Your cousin." He spat. Just then the door to Gwen's ex parents' house opened. Ben looked and saw that only Max and his father stepped out.

Max walked up to Gwen, holding a letter. He knelt and said, "Hey there kiddo, I have something for you." Gwen looked up and saw the letter. "It's your real Mother's and Father's will." Gwen took the envelope and opened it. "It says that you inherit everything. Their property, their wealth, their staff. You also have access to a bank account with money already in it." Max explained. Gwen's eyes scanned the first page. She looked but didn't read it, couldn't comprehend it in her shock. Not only were the parents she knew not her parents but her real parents were dead and left her a fortune. It was all just too much to take in.

"What!?" Laura shrieked. "No way she gets all their money! They only found out I wasn't their daughter a month ago." She stormed over to Gwen and snatched the letter out of her hands. "No way they changed their will that fast!" She said, disbelievingly as she skimmed over the official papers.

"Hmm, well maybe it's because you're not their biological daughter and it wasn't very hard to switch names. How about you try to have some empathy? Gwen was just abandoned by the only parents she ever knew, and she'll never know her real parents. So yeah, I think it's actually pretty fair that you're not getting anything." Max said passive aggressively, letting his temper slip. "Now, you're going to be coming on this road trip with us and let me get one thing straight; I am in charge so you will do what I say this summer. If you don't it's not going to be a very fun experience for any of us, especially you." Max said, glaring at Laura. He walked over to the Rust Bucket and held the door open for her. Max watched her closely as she stomped in with a huff.

"What about me?" Gwen asked, timid.

Max gave her a loving smile. "Of course, you're coming along." Max said gently. Gwen gave him a big hug before stepping into the RV. "Ben." Max said, stopping Ben before he stepped in. He dropped down to a knee and looked Ben in the eyes, locking him in a serious glare. "This summer is going to be fun if you do what I say." He gave Ben a small wink, without anyone else seeing.

"I'll listen Grandpa, I promise." Ben said with a sinister smile, catching on to what Max was hinting at.

As Ben walked into the RV Max stood up and faced Frank's house. "I am disappointed in you." Max said darkly to himself then got in as well. When Max was in the front seat, he saw that he was way behind schedule and it would be very dark before that got to the first stop. "Hey, Ben, mind giving us a hand? We're late." He asked.

"Sure thing, Grandpa." Ben said, guiding Gwen to his bed in the back. He went Upgrade, making Laura shriek. "Yep, I can turn into aliens." Upgrade said, he didn't pay her much mind as he took over the RV.

"I am so out of here!" Laura shouted. "See you freaks, let's see, never!" she said as she ran to the door. When she opened it, she saw nothing but empty sky. Laura squeaked, seemingly paralyzed with fear.

Max used a button on the console to shut the door. "Sorry, I don't need you falling out." He said as Laura took a couple shaky steps back. "Now, we need to talk about the sleeping arrangements." Max said, spinning the seat to face Gwen and Laura. "The beds in the back can only hold one person and now there are four of us."

"Gwen and I can share a bed. I don't think Gwen would like to share a bed with her after what happened." Upgrade said, his mechanical voice drifting through the speakers.

"Ok, with that it's all settled. I will start setting up your chores." Max said standing up and pulling out some paper.

"Me do chores, yeah right, and there is no way I'm sleeping next to an old man." Laura said, crossing her arms.

Max looked up at her and said, "You will if you don't want to get grounded and keep getting your allowance."

When Ben landed the RV at the camp site, he turned human, appearing in the center of the RV, laying on the floor. Gwen, who had been curled up in the back, silently crying, smiled a little and let out a small giggle. "What's so funny?" Ben asked, rolling over onto his stomach to look at Gwen.

"You look so tired." Gwen snickered, her smile becoming stronger. Ben got up and sat next to Gwen, Laura just rolled her eyes and walked out of the RV.

Max walked outside to find that a man was waiting for them. "Who are you?" Max asked.

"This is my old butler. Have you come to serve me again?" Laura asked.

"No, I have come for Miss Tennyson." The man said. When Gwen walked out the man gave a low bow and said, "Miss Tennyson, I was your parent's butler. I am here to give you a bank card with your name on it so you can access your family's riches and to offer to work for you full time."

Laura let out a scream in frustration and stormed off. Ben just looked around remembering that the first time they were here when he got the Omnitrix. "How much is in the bank account?" Gwen asked.

"Well, Miss Tennyson, your family had their own bank which you can access through any bank. The people that run your family bank are payed through the account so you will never have to worry about them. They will make sure your account is never empty, the best stockbrokers are running your stocks as well, it's all handled through that bank. I can assure you, money is no object to you." The man said.

"Well, I don't need you here so why don't you go back to the house I will be living in and help them until the end of summer." Gwen said.

"It would honor me, and I will stay on top of your bank to make sure you have nothing to worry about." When the man was done, he got the information on where to go and left. They called Ben's mother to let her know what was going on.

Ben went Wildmutt and started looking for Laura. She had run off into the woods, the path eventually became familiar to him. When he found her, she was at the edge of a deep crater, observing it. He made sure to turn human out of sight and said, "That hole is where I first got the Omnitrix."

She jumped and fell into the hole. Ben ran up to the edge, checking if she was alright. She was splayed out on the ground, her perfect hair and clothes now messy and dirty. Ben couldn't help but to laugh. "Don't make fun of me!" Laura shrieked, sitting up and looking up at Ben with tears in her eyes.

Ben jumped down and landed gracefully next to her. "Sorry, but it was funny."

"Either be sorry or don't." She snapped.

"Right." Ben said with a roll of his eyes. "Anyways, I just wanted to say that I'm offering a hand of friendship. If we're going to be stuck together might as well be friends." He offered her a hand up. Laura looked at him skeptically but took his hand, when Ben helped her up, she brushed the dirt and grass off her.

"Yeah, well, whatever." She scoffed and climbed out the crater. Ben rolled his eyes but followed her, leading her back to the RV.

Ben went Stinkfly and shot some goop at Laura and hit her in the back. "Well, since you're now my cousin you will get the same treatment that Gwen did when she was." Stinkfly said flying over her and turning human in front of her.

"So, you're saying I will be tortured by you every day?" Laura asked, walking next to Ben and trying to get the goop off herself.

When they had gotten back to the camp site grandpa Max saw the green goop on her and back. "Ben, you shouldn't use Stinkfly to mess with your new cousin." Max said with a wink.

"I'm sorry Grandpa, I'll try to remember that." Ben said in an overly dramatic, apologetic tone.

"I saw that wink old man!" Laura snapped, pointing an accusatory finger at Max. Gwen snickered softly to herself. "This is going to be the worst summer ever!" She moaned with an angry stomp of her foot.

"Remember when we were like that?" Gwen asked. Ben snickered and nodded.

"I'm the same age as you." Laura countered.

"Well you don't act like it." Max said.

Pink crept across Laura's nose as her eyes widened. "Well, whatever. I'm going inside." She said, storming off into the RV.

They sat around the fire while Laura hid inside, telling stories. When dinner was done Ben took a plate into Laura which surprised her. "I told you we'll be like friends, but as my cousin I will tease you and you're welcome to try and tease me." Ben said, sitting across from her.

"Well, I hope you will take into account that I'm just human, unlike you." Laura said.

"Well, I'm just as human as you but thanks to this watch I can turn into all kinds of aliens, before I got the new update, I only had 37, now I'm not sure yet." Ben said, starting to play with the Omnitrix again.

Max and Gwen came in. "It's time to get ready for bed." Max said. They set up the bed for Ben and Gwen while Ben set up the beds in the back for Grandpa Max and Laura. They all went to sleep, Ben slept as close to the wall as he could, Gwen had most of the bed. Gwen woke up feeling sad; she remembered how safe and happy she felt when she was held by Ben and so she cuddled into him and went back to a peaceful sleep.

TBC…

I hope you like it, please let me know what you thought about it. (GD)

I got the idea form reading another story it was 'Summer Battles by: VegZombieGrl' (GD)