newbienovelistRD asked for this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy!

Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. I only own Chelsea and Rachel.

Part of this story was inspired by the DreamWorks movie "How To Train Your Dragon 2," in the scene where Toothless has Hiccup pinned and they are mock fighting until Toothless flops down on Hiccup before Astrid shows up. That scene always makes me laugh. :)

Your Best Friends And Family Won't Let You Quit

"Why do I even bother with this?!" Ben asked to himself as he watched Chadzmuth once again free another criminal the hero had just finished putting in jail. The arrogant Galvan was getting on Ben's nerves, especially when the criminals were allowed to go back to their crimes.

Ben just sighed, deciding to leave Plumber Headquarters and go home. He didn't want to deal with those criminals again. He had already deal with them three times today and he had no energy to deal with them for a fourth time.

Rook saw how exhausted Ben was and took him home before heading to the Grant Mansion. "I'm worried about Ben," he said to Rachel.

"I'm worried too," said the owner of the Grant Mansion. "That Chadzmuth really gets on my nerves."

"He is a 'pain in the neck', as humans say," said Rook.

"Should we have Ben come over?" Rachel asked. "He's going to need our support."

Rook thought for a minute and then nodded. "I'll bring him by tomorrow," he said.

A few days has passed and Rachel was now very worried. When Ben had come over, he hadn't wanted to talk to any of the aliens and he hadn't been wanting to really talk to anyone else. Rachel had tried to ask him what was going on, but he wouldn't tell her much.

"The Plumbers have enough enforcers to take care of threats," he had said. "Let them deal with evil aliens."

"But they do," said Rachel in confusion.

"No, they always call me," the hero had said. "Not anymore. I don't have the energy for it. I quit."

"Ben, you can't quit being a hero," Rachel had told him. "There are so many people that look up to you. When there's villains, who do they think of first? Not the Plumbers. Not the police. You."

"She's right," Grey Matter had said.

"Don't bother, Grey Matter," Ben had told him harshly.

Rook had tried to say something, but Ben tuned him out too. He also turned his back on some of the other aliens who tried to help. They were at a loss.

Rachel was now sitting in the living room with Snare-Oh, Chromastone, Grey Matter, and Wildmutt. She was thinking about the past few days and she suddenly thought about Chadzmuth and she suddenly sat up, almost falling off the couch, but Chromastone caught her in time. "What is it?" He asked, realizing she might have just had a brainstorm.

"Chadzmuth," she said. "I remember Rook saying Ben had captured some criminals three times a few days ago and that arrogant alien freed them each time."

Grey Matter caught on Rachel's train of thought. "He's the reason Ben decided to quit being a hero and why he's rejected us," he said.

"And rejected you more harshly since you and Chadzmuth are the same species," said Snare-Oh thoughtfully.

Wildmutt growled a bit angrily and Rachel turned to him. "Yeah, that creep does need a piece of our minds," she agreed and then sighed. "How can a know-it-all Galvan be so arrogant?"

She then looked at Grey Matter. "No offense, bro," she said.

"None taken," he said. "I feel the same way sometimes."

Neither one of them noticed that their niece Chelsea was listening to them and got an idea.

The fourteen-year-old was determined to help her uncle Ben and decided to do what her aunt and uncles wanted to do: give Chadzmuth a piece of their minds.

Well, she was going to do it for them and then some. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed one of Frankenstrike's teleporters and placed a note beside the others before teleporting herself to Plumber HQ.

She arrived in the cafeteria, which was empty at the moment, and quickly moved toward the door and down the hall, keeping her eyes opened for a certain Galvan. It didn't take her long to find him boasting to some other Plumbers about another victory.

"Ben Tennyson can't keep up with me," Chadzmuth boasted.

"Yes, he can!" Chelsea said firmly, startling them all. The teenager glared at the Galvan. "You've got a lot of nerve talking about my uncle like that."

Chadzmuth gave a rude laugh. "So, being a coward, Tennyson sends his niece to face me, hmm?" He asked.

It took everything in Chelsea to not pick him up and throw him into space. "You know, if Azmuth was here, he'd put you in your place," she snapped.

Chadzmuth laughed at her again. "You're the one who needs someone to put you in your place, human," he sneered.

"She's already in her place," came a new voice as Azmuth himself appeared. The gathered Plumbers gave the first thinker respectful nods and Chelsea backed up a bit and nodded in respect too. She hadn't expected him to suddenly appear.

"Young Chelsea's place is defending her family, which she just did with both her words and her actions," said Azmuth. "She could have easily thrown you out the window, but held her temper instead."

"That just shows she knows better than to pick a fight with a being better than her," said Chadzmuth.

"She knows better than to pick a fight, yes, but we Galvans are not better than humans," said the First Thinker. "Ben Tennyson has even proved me wrong at times."

"Then you are as weak as him, Great Thinker."

That insult made the other Plumbers stiffen and Chelsea barely held in her gasp. Azmuth just looked at Chadzmuth calmly before three other Galvans arrived and he looked at them. "Please escort Chadzmuth to his place," he said. "I have a special job in mind for him."

"You need my talents on Galvan Prime?" Chadzmuth asked, puffing himself up in pride.

Azmuth smirked. "Actually, I need your hands to repair one of my labs that was destroyed by one of the alien criminals Ben had captured and you had set free," he said. "As all of my labs are important, you best get to work quickly."

The look on Chadzmuth's face made Chelsea grin hugely as she then kneeled down to speak to Azmuth. "Azmuth, how did you know we'd be here?" She asked.

The First Thinker turned to the teenager. "Your aunt Rachel found your note and asked Grey Matter to contact me," he said. "You had them worried when they read your note."

Chelsea winced a little, but then looked earnest. "I just wanted that bully to quit talking badly about Uncle Ben," she said. "He quit being a hero because of Chadzmuth."

Azmuth nodded as Rachel had filled him in on that and he looked at Chelsea now. "You came up here to defend Ben, even though he is not related to you?" He asked now.

She looked at him. "Uncle Ben may not be related to me, but he's still part of my family," she said. "And I hate it when others try to bring my family down."

Azmuth nodded and then a rare smile came to his face. "Ben is lucky to have you as a niece," he said, making her smile. "Do you think you can show the same loyalty now that he has given up being a hero?"

Chelsea looked a bit sad, but then nodded. "Family isn't based on your title in life. It's based on unconditional love for each other. That's what Aunt Rachel taught me," she said.

Azmuth was both surprised and impressed with the teen's wise answer. "And your aunt is correct," he said. "Perhaps that same unconditional love can help Ben."

Chelsea caught on what he meant and nodded. "That's a great idea," she said.

The First Thinker smiled again and teleported himself and Chelsea back to the Grant Mansion. Snare-Oh spotted them immediately. "Thank goodness," he said in relief.

Rachel grabbed Chelsea's shoulders. "Honey, please don't ever do that again without telling us first," she said, her voice taking a slightly stern note.

She nodded. "I'm sorry, Aunt Rachel," she said sincerely.

Rachel pulled the teenager into a hug. "You meant well, honey," she said gently.

"What did Chadzmuth say?" Chromastone asked.

"He was rude about it until Uncle Azmuth gave him his new job," Chelsea said, giggling.

"New job?" Grey Matter asked.

"Fixing one of my labs that a criminal he had freed destroyed," said Azmuth, smiling.

The others looked at each other knowingly and Chelsea then looked at Grey Matter and Wildmutt. "I have an idea that can help Uncle Ben," she said.

Wildmutt gave a friendly growl and Chelsea turned to look at Rachel, who smiled. "He asked what you had in mind," she said.

Chelsea told them and Grey Matter became thoughtful. "I think we can pull that off," he said as he and Wildmutt headed for Ben's room while the others watched.

Chelsea kneeled down and offered a hand to Azmuth, who stood in her hand as she stood up again and he faced Rachel, Snare-Oh, and Chromastone. "Your niece is not only loyal to her family, but has a good head on her shoulders," he said.

They nodded in agreement to that.

Meanwhile, Wildmutt and Grey Matter had just arrived at Ben's room and saw the young man looking very glum. "Ben?" Grey Matter called to him.

He turned to them. "What do you two want?" He asked.

Wildmutt jumped up on the bed and lay down beside Ben while Grey Matter sat on Ben's chest. "Ben, was Chadzmuth the reason you were rejecting our attempts to help you and the reason you decided to give up being a hero?" He asked.

Ben sighed. "How can I be a good hero when all he does is free the criminals that I've caught and they keep on doing their crimes?" He asked. "There's nothing I can do about it."

Grey Matter smiled a bit. "Well, Chadzmuth got his due," he said. "Our niece Chelsea went up to Plumber HQ to defend you."

"She did?" Ben asked in surprise.

"She even impressed Azmuth with her loyalty to you."

That made Ben smile and he suddenly saw Grey Matter grin. "Now it's time for Wildmutt and I to show our loyalty to you," he said as he then pounced on Ben's stomach and Wildmutt pinned Ben's shoulders down. The young man tried to get up, but then felt Grey Matter start tickling his stomach and Wildmutt began licking Ben's face and neck happily.

Ben's laughter shook the house and made the others who heard it laugh. "Sounds like your plan is working, kiddo," said Chromastone.

Azmuth smiled. "Of course it would," he said. "She has a bright mind after all."

With that, he said farewell and teleported out while the others headed up for Ben's room to see how Grey Matter and Wildmutt were doing with Ben.

Ben had finally gotten the two mischievous aliens to stop by activating the Omnitrix and turning into Upgrade to escape and then tickling Grey Matter and Wildmutt both. The two howled with laughter before Ben's Omnitrix timed out and Wildmutt pinned Ben down again and playfully waved a paw around at the hero would pretended to playfully swat it away.

"Man verses pet! Who will win?" Ben asked right before he let out a grunt as Wildmutt suddenly flopped down on him, pinning him down again but also landing on Grey Matter too.

"Hey!" The small alien called out. "Not me too."

Snare-Oh, Chromastone, Rachel, and Chelsea silently laughed as they watched the amusing scene, especially when Grey Matter managed to pull himself halfway out from under Wildmutt's front leg.

Ben laughed and managed to lift Wildmutt's front leg up so that Grey Matter could get free. He then placed the small alien back on his chest and Wildmutt moved to lay beside Ben again as the young man began patting him like he would a real dog. "Thanks, guys," he said with a smile.

"Anytime, Ben," said Grey Matter. "Just remember, your best friends and family won't ever let you quit."

"I'll remember that," Ben promised with a smile.

The two aliens and girls who were watching smiled at each other happily, happy that Ben wasn't depressed anymore and ready to be a hero once again.

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GoldGuardian2418