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Tada! It's here!

Love, Keta.

Biometrical Afflictions

My dearest friend, if you don't mind

I'd like to join you by your side

Where we can gaze into the stars

And sit together, now and forever

-Finale/Reprise (Nightmare Before Christmas)

Allen slides down the banister and races into the kitchen, arriving at the exact same time as Tyki, who laughs and pulls the boy in with him. "Morning, Shounen!"

"Good morning to you too!"

They chuckle and move to snitch food from around Adam who whacks the older one with his spatula before diving up the pancakes. "What was that for?!"

"Being an ass."

"He's always an ass," Lulubell murmurs, sliding into her seat with distinct grace and beauty that contradicts her past as a car thief. "I think it comes with the beauty mark."

"What's wrong with my beauty mark?!" he cries, stilling his tactical advance on the innocent stack of delicious pancakes.

"The fact that you're a guy, and it makes you look prettier."

He rolls his eyes and turns back to the albino, quickly engaging Allen in small talk as the seats begin to fill up, and just as Adam's about to sit down, Tyki's older brother, Sheryl bursts in, panic on his face. "We have a small problem."

"What kind of problem?" Adam asks, leveling his third in command with a stare.

"Alpha's back!"

As a familiar Hispanic teen stare at the stranger in their world, a door, heart-shaped but menacing, opens, and Adam and Allen step through, drawing attention away from one Benjamin Kirby Tennyson. "Allen?" Rebecca whispers in mild disbelief, her face conveying it just as well.

"Hi, Mom." Allen waits patiently to be acknowledged by his boyfriend, not expecting to have the older teenager launch himself at him. "Well, hi to you too." He looks around the room with sorrow and finally asks the question he'd been dreading since the news came. "How's Six?"

"How'd you find out?" White Knight asks, not caring to answer.

"My brother, Sheryl," Adam replies for the albino, face impassive. "Now, how is Agent Six?"

Doctor Holiday looks down at her son with barely concealed sadness and fear before answering, making his eyes widen. "Critical, and we don't quite understand what we were fighting. All we have is this kid." She jerks her thumb as Ben, making the brunette scowl.

"Hey! I'm a human being too! And I don't know anything about that thing! I was just at a TV interview when it attacked me and I wound up here."

"And you'll stay here, until Six wakes up," White Knight throws back at the teenager, not seeming to notice the darkened glares Adam and Allen throw him until the former speaks up.

"You don't need him. I knew enough about Alpha to get us all through this with as minimal pain as possible." The conscious members of the old Providence turn to look at him as if to ask what he's talking about, and the doctor's eager to tell. "It's a special nanite that your brother made, Rex. It has the power to control other nanites, but it's particularly unstable. I expect that it'll be after your omega nanite soon enough."

Rex gives him a look of confusion that makes the man grin. "How do you-?"

"Allen told me."

"Allen!"

The youngest E.V.O. in the room sighs and rolls his eyes. "Adam's family, Rex. I think we can trust him."

"I do trust him... He gave you back to me."

Throughout it all, Ben watches silently, until an explosive crash rocks the underground facility, and knowing that it has to be an enemy, he twists the ominitrix face until the display shows one of the few aliens that could get him out of his situation. "Big Chill." He steps out of the containment area, surprising the others. "Are we going to stop whatever's attacking this place or not?"

Allen watches with curious eyes as Ben attacks the mass of inanities alongside Rex, not sure if he should interfere, and just as he's about to, Neah's voice sounds in his head, sharp and clearly irritated. 'Don't you fucking dare.'

'What if he gets hurt?'

His counterpart snorts and directs the albino's attention to Adam who's in his inhuman form again and launches himself in the fight alongside his siblings, Breach and Circe. 'I'm pretty sure they'll all be fine.'

'Then what are we supposed to do?'

'Wait.'

'For what?" Allen asks, not getting what he's at.

The longest silence during one of their conversations occurs, and in it, all of the fighting E.V.O.s and Ben rush at the creature, only to have it slip out of their grasp. 'Now!' Allen leaps into the air and creates his claws, swiping them through Alpha's new nanite body, but their celebration is short lived as the thing scatters and reforms, attacking the boy head on.

"G-god damnit…" Allen whispers, jumping backwards and clutching to his non-metallic arm that had been cut by the machines. "I am so, not going to let this go." He looks over at the twins, half-hidden by Tyki, and Fiidora, and smirks. "Fiidora, Jasdevi, they're susceptible to heat and acid like any other machine!" Immediately, the twins jump to action, shooting a fiery shot at Alpha and driving him towards the other brother and his destructive powers.

As it melts into an unworkable blob, a swell of pride enters Rex's heart, and he looks over at his boyfriend and smiles, happy when the teen smiles back.

Benjamin Kirby Tennyson hasn't been exposed to many homosexual relationships, but he could tell from the start that Allen and Rex weren't like others he'd seen because there was an understanding between them that he wishes he could have with another person. Unfortunately, there aren't many people with an ominitrix to contend with, and being there just reminded him of that fact. So when the opportunity came to get away, he was just about to leave when Allen gave him a hug from behind.

He turns around and looks down at the fragile-looking albino, noting how appearances can be deceiving. "Hi, Allen."

"Hi…" The E.V.O. twists his hands for a bit before asking, "you're going home, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Silver eyes gleamed in the hospital-like fluorescence from the machine, seeming to stick out anywhere. "I just wanted to thank you for protecting my boyfriend."

"It's not that big of a deal… I'm a hero, and that's what heroes do."

A small smile quirked at petal lips, making the one who caused it to feel a small amount of pride. "It's true… You are a hero, but I wanted to thank you… Be safe, Ben Ten."

Hearing his nickname, the brunette teenager grins back. "You too, Allen Holiday…"

A hand slides around Allen's waist, startling the whitette until he realizes that its his boyfriend, and Rex stays silent, waving at the other hero until he's gone. Still, they stand there and stare into the empty air, content with life. "I'm staying for a while this time."

"You better… I missed you."

"I missed you more." They turn on one another and start to argue over who missed who more, and above it all in the control box, Caesar, Adam, Six and Rebecca watch and laugh, knowing that nothing could be better than seeing the two of them smile again.

It is plain as anyone to see, we're simply meant to be….