Title: Wardrobe Malfunction
Chapter: 1/1
Show: Ben 10
Rating: K
Warnings: Surprisingly, none.
Date Updated: 9/6/2012
Disclaimer: I do not own whatever show this story is based on. No profit is earned from the making of this story. (Yay Templates!)
Comments: This is set right before or right at the start of Omviverse, age 16
"Finally, the perfect plan to stop being recognized as Ben Tennyson or a look-a-like in the streets. It may not be a permanent solution to the problem, but at the least it will be a step in the correct direction," Albedo smiled as he walked into the store, "These articles of clothing are nothing like any Galvan fabric, but even if that is my desired outfit, I can't wear it in this form."
"Do you need help with something?" A clerk with striped yellow blond and raven black hair asked lazily.
"Ah, yes. Where might one find your teenage male clothing?" Albedo asked. The clerk just lifted her eyebrow, leading to an awkward pause in the conversation. Albedo's hand was still in the air to gesture in any mentioned direction. After a moment the clerk popped a bubble of bright green gum that she had been chewing on beforehand.
"If you want some clothes that can fit you, I'd say that they are probably over there in the far corner," The clerk replied slowly. Albedo's eyebrow twitched.
"Probably? You aren't even certain of the location of the merchandise in your own store?" Albedo asked in irritation.
"It ain't my store. It's boss Christy's store," The girl replied before spinning around in her chair. Albedo's hands clenched at the terminology and the attitude, but he turned sharply and walked over to the somewhat dark corner without threatening violence against the teen.
"To have so little pride in your work that you cannot even say where it lies…" Albedo seethed, "Idiots, every single one of them. And that female would be considered proactive for even asking me if I desired any assistance!"
Albedo unclenched his hands and at least attempted to unfurl his brow so he could get to the work at hand. He exhaled in one violent puff before focusing on the many racks of poorly stitched clothing in front of him. He tried to ignore the nagging in the back of his mind about how humans forced each other into modern slavery over such raggedy and poor quality apparel as he reach towards the first item in front of him. It was a jacket not unlike the one he currently wore. It had a hood for protecting him from the weather and hiding his face from the public, although he doubted it would do any good at either. Still, the hoodie did match him, and he did need a form of winter clothing that was thicker than his current jacket, even if he implemented no change in his wardrobe. The hoodie was indeed thick enough to shelter him on freezing cold days, so he tossed it into his basket, "Hm. If that is a cold weather jacket, I could most likely stand it during a simply cool day. I don't think I require a second, cool weather jacket."
"That means that next on my required garments list would be some jeans. I'm not too worried about those though. Jeans are jeans. In this culture they are as common as having any type of shirt on at all. Unless the jeans are in an intense color or are embellished they are simply ignored," Albedo thought, grabbing a random pair of brown flared jeans, "There, this color and cut shall be suitable. This color minimizes the appearance of dirt, and the cut is just different enough to make a difference."
"It is clear that a shirt will be the center piece of this outfit. Perhaps I should wait until I am done picking the rest of the outfit? Yes, I should pick out some new shoes first. They are a minor detail, but my old ones were wearing thin anyways," The albino boy decided, walking over the other section, conveniently in the next corner over. The thought played through his mind that perhaps the store would be better suited being divided into quadrants instead of just having four corners because of its small size, but he figured that even Azmuth had only the smallest chance of explaining the system to the clerk in the front. Regardless of location, the shoe section sadly matched its status of being a corner. It had only a couple brands, and a handful of styles. Albedo guessed the most stocked style with a sigh, the same one he and Ben currently wore. Still, just because the only good shoes in stock were of the same style doesn't mean there can't be change. Looking into one of the boxes, Albedo found a pair of shoes that was white with red sides. Perfect, even if he was forced to wear the same style of shoes as Ben, atleast he could have a different color, his color.
Albedo gazed at the not too distant rack of shirts. Gaudy designs that would wear off in one wash littered the wall, making Albedo wince at his chances of finding a decent shirt. Pictures of cartoon characters dressing sexually or crude and moronic phrases were certainly not his style, and made him a bit apprehensive about approaching the racks of clothes. Still, if he needed to change his look, than he absolutely had to find a good shirt. It would be the focal point of attention, drawing eyes away from his face, and it had to describe him. Bracing himself and puffing up his chest with pride and courage, he strutted over to the shirts, as if he was trying to bully the garments into giving their frilly and glittery dress girlfriends to him in fear. The shirts weren't phased though, and as he walked closer they seemed to leer at him; their words mocking his ability to defend his male pride and intelligence. Albedo walked right past them, head high and shoulders back as he found his way to a not so horrid looking rack. Surprisingly, all of the best clothes were on the bargain rack. Albedo shrugged to himself. The fashion of clothes did not concern him, so he thanked his luck that the clothes that most likely fitted his image were at the lowest cost, "Now to see if there is even a single garment that doesn't have a hideous logo or a idiotic design."
"This one," Albedo smirked as he looked over the garment in his hands. He took it off the rack and held it up to the light so he could examine it in detail. It was mostly white with red detailing, his coloration. It also had a vertical strip that bisected, that is, went right down the middle of, the article, a design very well loved by the Galvan. It had the number 10 printed in the middle with some other peripheral details, but on the whole the shirt that Albedo had found was the one. It was his shirt, or at least would be once he skipped up to the checkout with his smirking grin and his basket of goods.
"Why!" Albedo screamed as he glared at the boy across the street. The brunette turned to him, his blue-skinned Revonnahgander partner also turning to see the yelling stranger. Albedo glared violently at the green eyed boy, "Why! I change my clothing so that I do not resemble you. I try to avoid your image. I make a reasonable effort to avoid you. Here you are! Here you are dressed just like me!"
"Albedo?" Ben asked curiously before catching what the boy was wearing and glaring back in opposition, "You are ripping off my look again, even the haircut and the shoes! I got this outfit brand new for this school year!"
"You! You are the one ripping off my look! I came up with this outfit so I could be distinguished from you!" Albedo yelled again, pointing at the other, "I carefully planned each item to match my wit and form, and yet you wear the same thing, and just as well!"
"Are you two relatives? I didn't find anyone like him when I first researched you," Rook stated plainly, but still curious about the odd appearance of the other, "And he has an extremely rare coloration for a human, only about a 1 in 10000 to 100000 chance. He would pose no difficulty in being remembered."
"He is a Galvan that was turned into a human as a punishment by Azmuth," Ben explained, turning back to his partner, "He stole another model of the Omnitrix, and made a fake one before that."
"Then why are you letting him get away?" Rook asked, pointing at the figure fleeing down an alley.
"I don't really have a reason to chase him now. He looks just as confused about this as me," Ben shrugged, "That and… the last time I chased him I broke something and had to spend so long paying it off."
"Why?!" Albedo asked himself rhetorically as he punched the brick wall of the dark walkway.