Hot Air Balloon, a ben 10 fanfic

A/N (7/6/11) If this seems familiar, it's probably because it is. XD I wrote this fanfic before, then deleted it and then put it up again. As before this is for KandiLip's Darkcaster contest, and probably the last revived Ben 10 fanfic you'll see on this site. DX On better news, this is a songfic to Owl City's "Hot Air Balloon", hence the title. Hope you all enjoy it~

We wrote a prelude

To our own fairytale

And bought a parachute

At a church rummage sale

And with a mean sewing machine

And miles of thread

We sewed the day above LA

In navy and red

It was very quiet the day I met Michael Morningstar. I had just destroyed a building full of innocent lives, about the fifth one that week. Not that I really cared. I was terribly bored, and this was my way of killing boredom. This was also an excellent way of unleashing my anger. Once again, I had failed to destroy Gwen Tennyson. The heroes had won and they rode off into the sunset yada yada yada. As if I really cared.

There was a park nearby the buildings I had slaughtered. It was pretty much empty, considering I had scared most of the people off. I gently seated myself on a bench and wondered about how happy endings were always evident when I tried to destroy Gwen. I was never part of that, no. It was always the heroes. The good guys. The winners. Even in stories, evil always lost. Evil meant you were taunted in the streets. You were the bad guys. The villain. The loser. So why did I keep it up? I asked myself that question many times. I sighed and closed my eyes. I could feel everything around me without even seeing it. This place was filled with mana. I wanted to have it all, but none of this was as valuable as Gwen's powers. She was the jackpot. I wanted that prize, and I would do anything for it.

A few minutes later, I felt someone else. I wasn't alone. My body pulled it self up and I prepared for the worst.

"Who's there?" I called out. A figure emerged from the shadows.

"Easy tiger. It's me. Darkstar." He explained. I extinguished my powers. I had heard about this Darkstar through the black market. The two of us both wanted the same thing for the same reasons. Gwendolyn Tennyson.

"What brings you here, Michael?" I sneered. Just because we had the same enemies, didn't mean we could be allies.

"Oh, not much. I was just in the area." He replied. He seemed very nonchalant. I wish I could be that way. "You seem tense, Charmcaster. May I ask what's wrong?" He cooed. God, his voice was so perfect, even though his looks weren't. I had heard that before the incident with the Tennysons, girls swooned over him. I didn't have a hard time doubting that.

"Oh the usual. Gwen beat me up again. The Tennysons and Levin lived happily ever after while the villain lay abandoned, waiting for the police to pick her up and throw her in jail, as if she were a piece of garbage." I sighed. "Just like always." Darkstar placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Life's not a fairytale, Charmcaster. The heroes don't alwayswin. In battle, yes, they manage to defeat us; but when it comes to wreaking things, no one does that better than us." He reasoned. I smiled.

"Okay then. Let's wreck something." I chuckled. This was going to be fun.

It was later that same day, we were in an old abandoned warehouse near the pier.

"Explain to me again why were making this." I asked. Michael's eyes were glued to the giant black and purple cloth laid out in front of him. His hands moved quickly as the sewing machine stitched the pieces together.

"It's a hot air balloon. Not only do we destroy things well, but we also do it in style. I smiled. I was beginning to like this boy.

We rode the racetrack

Through your mom's kitchen chairs

And fought the shadows back

Down your dark basement stairs

I lit a match than let it catch

To light up the room

And then you yelled as we beheld

An old maroon

Hot air balloon

Once we had managed to pull this massive thing out to the pier, we began to prepare for our havoc-reeking evening. He blew up the balloon, and I readied our solders; miniature versions of my rock monsters. They were light enough to fit in the balloon, yet they packed a pretty big punch. We were done rather quickly, but I suppose our powers made it go by much quicker. Mike stepped onto the basket and held out his hand.

"I'll give you a lift if you need it." He offered. I couldn't tell with the mask blocking his face, but I could swear he smiled as I grasped his hand. I knew I did. As we rose, I covered my eyes. I always had a slight fear of heights, my face just never showed it. With Mike, I felt different, special even. My feelings could come out. I could be myself. A gloved hand touched my face and grasped my hands in his own. "You can open your eyes. I'm here." His voice whispered. My eyelids fluttered open. The view up here was amazing. Downtown Bellwood was beginning to light up, and the waves beneath us churned slowly. "It's not that bad now is it? This city is wonderful at night." He chuckled. I nodded, still amazed at how beautiful the city I lived in was at night.

"It sure is." I whispered. My heart almost felt bad for those people we were about to destroy. My hand slipped its way into my bag and I threw out the pebbles onto the civilians. There was a cloud of purple smoke and a symphony of screams resounded in my ears. I let out a long laugh and Darkstar did the same. Like I said before, I almost felt bad for those citizens, but truly, I never would. Being bad was fun, especially with Mike at my side.

I'll be out of my mind

And you'll be out of ideas pretty soon

So let's spend

The afternoon in a cold hot air balloon

Leave your jacket behind

We'll melt and touch the treetops of our town

I can't wait

To kiss the ground whenever we touch back down

The next day I ran through the streets of Bellwood, admiring the chaos Mike and I had created. Flames licked up at the sky and the police were helping everyone out of their homes and towards safety. As if I really cared. I stopped at the warehouse and brushed the dust of my clothes before stepping inside.

"Knock knock." I called out. As if he had this written out on a script, Darkstar came out right as the last syllable escaped my lips.

"Hello, lovely Charmcaster." He responded. I had heard him call Gwen that name before, and hearing those words out of him was pure music to my ears. I'm glad he had lost his crush on Gwen; otherwise I would have never fallen for him. That hot air balloon trip also strengthened our relationship. He sucked the life out of some people; I threw some minions at some others. We were a great team, and we both sort of clicked. "Care for another trip?" Mike offered.

"As long as it's with you." I answered, and we both hopped onto the purple basket. We held each other's hand tightly as he opened the roof of the warehouse. My stomach lurched up as we went higher and higher. My hopes seemed to rise with the balloon. As much as I hated to admit it, I loved being with Michael, even though we had only met yesterday. I guess love is funny that way sometimes.

After a few hours of being in the air, Darkstar came up to me.

"Where do you want to go now, darling?" he questioned. The way he addressed me was rather shocking. No one had called me "darling", apart from maybe my parents. Darling was used as a term for affection. Did this mean he felt the same way? I had to put that thought aside for now.

"The ground would be fine, Mike." I offered. As nice as the sky was, it could get chilly at some times. He nodded and turned the knob so the balloon would lower us down. It took about fifteen minutes, but when we reached Earth once again, I heaved a sigh of relief. I felt the warm summer breeze warm me up again. I heard Darkstar's footsteps behind me.

"You know, there's an expression that people like to use. It's 'I'll kiss the ground whenever we touch back down.' It's rather strange." He mused out loud after standing beside me.

"I'd rather kiss you." I implied. He looked at me through the holes in his mask.

"Is that an offer?" He implored. My lips curled into a smile.

"I'd say it is."

We drank the Great Lakes

Like cold lemonade

And both got stomachaches

Sprawled out in the shade

So bored to death you held your breath

And I tried not to yawn

You made my frown turn upside down

And now my worries are gone

He inched closer to me. I had to admit, I was a little scared. The only time kissed someone was when I had to get Kevin under my control, but that didn't really count. I figured it was better if I closed my eyes. As I did, I managed to glimpse Michael's face. He looked hideous; his skin was grey and disheveled, and his eyes seemed to sink into his face. I didn't let that get to me and as we leaned in closer to each other, I felt as if all the things in the world had begun to disappear. It was just the two of us. Darkstar and me. Nothing could stop us. As our lips collided, I swore I felt the world explode and it was the two of us. That kiss was perfect. If I could go back in time, I would go to this moment exactly and relive it over and over again. World domination and Gwen Tennyson were the last things on my mind. Michael Morningstar had swept me off my feet, and I wasn't ashamed of it one bit.