Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10, or any of the things I will reference in this entire story. The only things I own in this thing is my OC and whatever I decide to make happen.
You know, waking up to an explosion isn't how I really wanted to start my day, the greenish alien woman hurrying me into a pod really wasn't helping matters much either. Everything was a blur as she typed a few things into the console and slammed her hand down onto a button, everything going dark as the hatch to the pod shut and I suddenly felt like I was flying through space.
I should probably start from the beginning, right?
Hello, my name is Cody Rosewater, a 22 year old head chef of a simple corner Café that my uncle owns.
Yesterday was overall a pretty standard day for me, except for the big vacuum of a portal coming out of my TV as I tried to rewatch Ben 10 for the first time in a while. I'm pretty sure that would ruin anyone's day…. The whole trip through the portal was painful, like my body was melting down and crushed, only for it to end with me blacking out at the other end of the portal.
I just sorta faded in and out of consciousness for the next couple hours, a few voices seeming to whisper to each other about me. I did happen to catch a few words though, 'Omnitrix' and 'no time' being the ones repeated over and over. After that, I guess my body just gave out….
And here I am… strapped down into an alien escape pod that could be going anywhere. Sighing a little, I finally had a chance to think about what all happened.
"Hmmm…." I hummed as I looked around, stopping at the sight of my right wrist. "Ohhhh, nooo….." I groaned, almost about to scream at the sudden realization of two things.
1: I have the Omnitrix strapped to my arm. 2:My voice isn't normally that high…
Slowly, I hesitantly reached a hand down and…..
Meanwhile, in the Rust Bucket.
"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" A scream was faintly heard through the windows of the RV.
"Did you hear that?" Gwen asked from her seat, not sure if what she heard was real.
"I didn't hear anything over the sound of your cooties." Ben mocked, smiling at what he said.
"Oh, shut it dweeb, I was asking grandpa." Gwen glared at her cousin and turned towards Max, the plumber finishing parking the rust bucket into the campground.
"I didn't hear anything, Gwen." Max shrugged, getting out of the driver's seat. "How about you two go out and get some fresh air? I'll get dinner started." He suggested with a smile.
Back with me…
"Okay, okay… Calm down, man. Ugh…" I nervously said to myself, taking deep breaths and looking staring at my hands. "You are now a… I wanna say an 11 year old girl with one of my most favourite pieces of fictional alien tech of all time, you got this." I shook my head and giggled a little, the sound coming off a little creepy in the escape pod.
My old clothes were gone, replaced by this strange white dress thing that was super soft to the touch. Even my hair changed, it is now a bright snowy white and very long, almost reaching down to my knees. I didn't even have any underwear or any shoes……. This is gonna be awkward for later.
"If I remember right….. Ben should be coming once this thing-" I was interrupted by the pod abruptly and violently slamming into the earth, the back of my head hitting the metal siding of the pod hard enough to almost knock me out. "I don't wanna go to school, mom…." I slurred out, seeing stars in my vision and feeling a warm liquid leaking out the back of my head.
"Looks like a satellite or somethin'…." A familiar voice was heard just outside the pod, the sound of rocks falling following shortly after with a scream.
The pod opened up and let me have a first look at the kid before me as I slowly fumbled with the straps keeping me in the seat. He was… shorter than I expected, but I knew instantly that it was the hero I've seen so many times on my TV when I was a kid.
"A girl?" He asked aloud, slowly climbing into it and helping me with the straps. "What were you doing in outer space?"
I suppose I was still delirious from my concussion, because the response I came up with was pretty stupid. "I was trying to find my moon monkey…. His name is Jangles…" I slurred and almost fell down once I was released from the straps, giving Ben a good look at my bleeding head.
"Ouch, that looks like it hurts…" Ben carefully held my arm and slowly led me up the crater the pod made. "Come on, I think grandpa can help you."
"Ouchies…." I deliriously told him, smiling stupidly as I followed him through the woods. It took a few minutes, but we both arrived at the camp. Gwen gave Ben a mean look at the sight of me being practically dragged by him and my bloody feet, rocks and sticks had torn up my bare feet along the way to the camp.
"Ben, what did you do?" She slowly asked, eyeing my head with a frown, the blood standing out brightly against the bright hair. "Did you hurt her, you doofus?!" She quickly grabbed me and led me away from him, ignoring just about everything he said in his defence.
"Grandpa!" Gwen yelled, getting Max's attention from starting the campfire. "I need your help!"
He quickly came over and looked at my bleeding head, frowning and taking me from Gwen, leading me into the rust bucket and gently making me sit down at the table inside. Pulling out a first aid kid from somewhere, Max started to tend to my head wound.
"Where did you come from, little lady?" Max calmly asked, dumping a little peroxide onto my head, making me hiss a little in pain. "Just call me grandpa, just about everyone else does." He told me with a smile.
Thinking clearly-ish for a moment, I slowly pointed up, making sure he saw the Omnitrix. "Er… Space." I simply told him, giving him my most innocent expression. "The ship was exploding and this green lady helped me get out. I did hear something about…. Plumbers? Some guy named Max?" I closed my eyes in fake thought. "Something about 'there is no time' and 'Omnitrix' was said a lot. I don't remember much else…."
Max blinked, suddenly stopping what he was doing for a few moments, before continuing to wrap some bandages around my head and feet. "Hmm… Do you have any family?" He asked after a moment of silence. "Maybe someone who can take care of you?"
"Uhmm…. " I slowly said, deciding to be semi-honest with my third favorite grandpa. "I don't think I will ever see them again…." I closed my eyes, the realization of everything finally hitting hard and causing tears to run down my face.
"Oh, er… There, there?" Max awkwardly rubbed my back, obviously uncomfortable with the situation. "I suppose you can come with my grandkids and I on our trip. Ben and Gwen could really use some company around their age." He pat my back and got up, giving me a small smile. "Now, how about I go get the campfire started while you take a breather in here? Then, we can make some s'mores and tell introduce ourselves, would that make you feel better?"
"I guess…" I sighed, giving the man a thankful look as he nodded and left to get the fire started, leaving me alone inside for a bit.
Sighing, I inched toward the window and looked out, seeing Max walk toward the campfire. Ben and Gwen seemed to be arguing over on the table a few feet away from the RV, only for Gwen to spot me in the window and wave to me with a smile. Shyly, I waved back and quickly backed away from the window, feeling my face heat up.
"Great…. Just great…" I facepalmed at the warm feeling in my gut, remembering something from when I was ten. "Welp… The crush I had on her is back…." I groaned, shaking my head and fiddling with the Omnitrix for a moment, deciding to take a look at all the aliens I had unlocked, just in case they've changed.
Pushing a button, the face of the watch popped up and showed the silhouette of Heatblast, making me smile at the memories of Ben screwing around with him. Turning it slightly, I almost immediately slapped the button down in excitement at the sight of Ditto. After a few more turns, it looks like I have all of the first ten aliens, along with Ditto, my personal favorite.
"Hmm…." I turned the watch back to Grey Matter, unsure if I should turn into him immediately and just pull what Ben's kid did in the show. "That could work. Have all of them unlocked immediately, along with the master control." I shook my head and laughed. "Nah, that'd be cheating."
"What would be cheating?" A familiar voice asked as the door opened, revealing Gwen as she took the seat across from me. "Oh, that's a weird watch. Does it even tell the time?"
"I'm pretty sure it doesn't." I told her, trying to hide my face behind my hair. "I-I'm…." I trailed off for a moment, realizing that Cody isn't really a girl's name. Quick, make one on the spot! "L-Louise Rosewater, nice to meet you."
Gwen gave me a polite smile, nodding a little. "I'm Gwen Tennyson and the dweeb that brought you here is Ben, my cousin." She greeted herself, groaning a little at the mention of Ben. "He didn't hurt you though, did he? I know he can be kinda idiotic sometimes, but I don't think he'd do it on purpose." She asked in concern, frowning at the very obvious bandages on my head.
"He didn't hurt me. He actually helped me." I calmly told her, nervously scratching my neck as I slowly moved my Omnitrix arm underneath the table. "Whatever he told you is probably true."
She gave me a flat look. "That you came from space? And that you were looking for Jangles the moon monkey?"
I winced at the last part, cursing my concussed ramblings. "Okay, the space part is true. The monkey bit though…." I pointed at my head, shrugging. "I did hit my head pretty hard."
Gwen looked like she didn't believe me, frowning and giving me a concerned look as she pulled out her laptop. "Let's look up the symptoms for concussions, okay? Maybe you just dreamed it all up."
I pulled my right arm back up, sighing a little at her reaction, the Omnitrix's center still popped up and now showing Ditto. "This is something the aliens left on me…. If you want proof, just push down on the button."
Gwen studied it for a moment, her eyes going back and forth between the Omnitrix and my serious face. "Okay, but if this is a prank by mega dweeb out there, I'm going to make you regret it." She sighed and pushed the button down, deciding to humor me for a moment.
I suddenly felt strange as a green light flashed, my body suddenly feeling like it turned into a burning liquid in a matter of seconds, and in the next moment it was over and Gwen stared at me in shock. My head had retained some of my white hair, in the form two small mohawks on both sides of my head, a single black frill going down the middle of the hair. Somehow the bandages on my head stayed with the transformation. The rest was standard Ditto, except for the clothes, instead of a black suit it was a simple white sundress
"So?" I nonchalantly asked in my new, high, double toned voice, suddenly feeling playful. "I was telling the truth, wasn't I?" I smiled widely at her still frozen face, getting up off my seat and instinctively splitting in two. The both of me laughed playfully at her, finally snapping her out of her shock.
"Louise…." Gwen slowly said, looking at the both of me. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, we're fine!" We both said at once, fighting our sudden case of ADHD. "We really want to play now, and we don't know why! Ask your questions, quick!" We both were visibly shaking from our restraint.
Gwen blinked at the anxious looks on both of my faces. "Okay, uh, are you really human?"
"Not at the moment." The me on the left answered.
"We. are. Ditto!" The me on the right laughed at what she said, causing her twin to join in.
"Aww man, I love that movie!"
"Me too!"
"High five!" Both of me high fived with loud laughter, Gwen watching the scene with a smile at the silliness of the situation.
"Hey, are we forgetting something?" The me on the left suddenly frowned, scratching her somehow still bandaged head. "I think we are…."
The me on the right scratched her chin. "I don't think so…."
"It was something about a murderbot….."
Both of me gasped, facepalming simultaneously with a loud slap. "Aaahhh….. Gwen….?"
Having a sinking feeling in her belly, Gwen slowly answered. "What?"
"Remember to slap us when we turn back to normal." The me on the right groaned.
"There's a murderbot with two little floaty buddies currently hunting us down." The me on the left explained with a sheepish smile, scratching her arm.
"What?!" Gwen screamed in shock.
"We can take them! Don't panic!" Lefty held up her hands. "Just get the others in here, I can explain everything once they are here."
"Why didn't you say anything earlier!" Gwen glared at the both of me.
The both of me didn't say anything, just pointed at their bandages, earning a blush from the girl as she struggled to come up with a response. Shaking her head, she went to the door and called everyone in. Ben was the first one in, giving the both of me an excited look.
"Cool!" He cheered, coming up to left me and grabbing her arm. "I saved it! I get to keep it!"
"Uh, no." Left me deadpanned, joining right me at the table. "If I were going to be kept by anyone, It'll be Gwen over here."
Right me continued for Left, giving Ben a look. "You look like you'd forget about us like a pet hamster. Gwen seems responsible enough, though."
Left laughed at Ben's sad expression. "Nah, I kinda see you as a kid brother. Trust us, we have some good pranks if you wanna learn them." She gave him a goofy smile, holding up her hand for a high five, which he happily returned.
"What's going on in her-!" Grandpa stopped at the sight of both of me, his mouth turning into a thin line as he gave me a calculating look.
"Before you freak out, my name is Louise, the human girl you helped and…." Left slowly started, holding up a finger.
"You... might want to know about the murderbot." Right cautiously finished, now slamming her head rhythmically against the table.
"What?!" Grandpa screamed as Ben gave me an excited look, no doubt expecting an alien vs robot battle. "And you didn't tell me!"
The both of me silently pointed at the bandages, deadpanning with a frown.
"Oh, er, fine…" Grandpa sighed and his glare softened, running a hand through his hair. "What does it look like?"
"Spider-ish lower body with a humanoid torso and clawed hands, it's got these two floaty minion bots in its shoulders. I think even Gwen can take one minion out with a shovel…." Left described, wincing at every thump right did with her head. "Would you stop that?"
"No. *thump! Feel to bad. *thump!"
"We both feel the same pain, cut it out! I don't wanna deal with both the robots and a headache you just caused." Left groaned, grabbing her twin and merging back into one.
"Much better." I smiled as Ben looked at me in shock, apparently surprised at what I just did. "...What? Got something on my face?" I mock felt my face, frowning at Ben.
Grandpa coughed and gave me a look. "As much as I would like to ask questions about how you turned into…. that." He waved at me, obviously trying to hide his secret from us. "Ben, Gwen, stay inside. Louise and I are going to have a little talk, outside."
"Okay?" I blinked and followed him out, taking a seat at the camp table. "So…."
He gave me a stern look. "Look, this doesn't look good for you." Max crossed his arms, frowning at me. "You came out of nowhere and put my family in danger…" He sighed, taking a seat across from me. "Is there anything else I need to know?"
"Uh, the guy trying to get the Omnitrix, the thing on my wrist, is called…." I struggled to remember for a moment, closing my eyes for a moment before snapping my fingers. "Vilgax. Yeah, that's his name. The ship I was on got a couple of good shots in though, so he might just send wave after wave of disposable minions after me if he is out of commission for a while." I shrugged, narrowing my eyes on some movement between the trees on the edge of the clearing. "And it looks like they're here."
I quickly leaped from my spot, showing my newfound agility as I sped toward the movement, splitting myself into eight me's with a battle cry. At the sight of red metal, we all jumped onto the floating drones, a few beams narrowly missing the few of us who got too close to the weapons on the front.
"Rosewater barrage!" We all screamed at once as we latched onto them, dragging them onto the ground with a crash. "Clone riot!" We gave another shout, doubling our numbers and ripping the drones apart piece by piece.
"You know, these guys are surprisingly easy to beat." One me noted as she ripped a laser arm off the drone she was punching, using it as a bat against its owner.
"I know, right?" Another me agreed, ripping out any important wires she saw.
"Eh, poor design."
The Omnitrix started its beeping and we looked at the brutalized remains of the drones, giving each other high fives and celebrating our first fight as aliens. A few moments later, a red light flashed, turning me back to normal.
Feeling a little woozy, I smiled and waved at Max, hoping he caught all that. "Told you about the minions! Oh, Ben, you can get a souvenir from these guys!" I chuckled, pointing at the remains of the drones as I made my way back to Max, seeing Ben and Gwen standing next to him and staring at me in shock.
Ben pretty much fangirl screamed as he dashed to the droids, grabbing whatever he could from their strewn apart parts. "You are now officially my best friend!"
"Ben! Drop that right now! It could be dangerous!" Max scolded him, running to Ben and making him drop everything he picked up.
Gwen gave me a dry look, giving me a frown. "Did you really name your attacks?" She crossed her arms and giggled. "Well, if it were Ben, I'd probably mock him for it."
I shyly looked away, suddenly finding a nearby tree interesting. "It sorta came out on its own…."
Gwen pat my shoulder and smiled at me. "Don't tell my doofus of a cousin this, but I thought it was pretty cool." She whispered to me and walked away to examine the two robots, my heart fluttering a little as my stomach suddenly had butterflies in it.
I slowly went to the camp table and sat down, leaving them to look at the drones. With a little groan, I held my chest, trying to calm my racing heart. I didn't really expect to react to Gwen that way, feeling like a pedo.
"Really? You are crushing on a ten year old girl!" I mentally chastising myself with a huff, before my traitorous mind came up with a reason to go along with it. "You're a little girl too. It should be alright, if you don't do anything dirty." My face heated up at the thought of the various 'acts' the internet has done to kid Gwen, an unfamiliar feeling brewing just above my new…. equipment.
"Hey, Louise?" Grandpa's voice startled me out of my musings, the big man raising a brow at my red face. "Are you alright?" He asked in concern. "You look a little feverish."
"O-Oh, er, I'm fine." I stuttered and gave the drone corpses a look, seeing Ben walking away from them with a leg in his arms, a stupid grin on his face. "Finally let him keep something?"
Max sighed. "Yeah, he can be pretty stubborn." He explained before smiling at me, giving the Omnitrix on my arm a look. "Well, with a device as powerful as that, you'll have to learn how to use it, and fast."
At this, I smiled. "Oh, I already know how to work it, don't worry about that. But using the alien transformations though…. I still need some work, Ditto was the only one I used on this thing." I nervously giggled, holding up the Omnitrix, its face red. "I just gotta wait for the cooldown to end before I can transform again." I explained at his questioning look, tapping at the face of the watch. "Let's just hope momma-bot won't show up before then."
"I hope so, too." He agreed, smiling with me. "Well, I'll be inside the Rust Bucket if you need me. I'll be listening on the radio for any word of a robot." He took a few steps toward the RV, and gave me a serious look. "Just keep an eye on my grandkids, okay?" He ordered, his tone all but promising my death if anything happened.
"Okay!" I fearfully squeaked out, earning a pleased nod from him before he went inside. "Geez, like I wouldn't help if they were in trouble…." I quietly grumbled to myself, a little disconcerted about Max's distrust. "Can't say I don't blame him…"
"Hi!"
"Ahhh!" I fell out of my seat at the sudden voice.
"Whoa! Are you alright?" Ben's face came into view, sporting his trademark smile. "Who am I kidding? You're a real life hero!" He offered a hand, which I accepted.
Gwen slapped the back of his head once I got back onto my seat, glaring at her cousin. "Sorry about him, he can be pretty stupid most of the time."
"Hey! At least I don't have a schedule that's color coded!" Ben snarked back, glaring at her.
I smiled at Gwen, raising a brow. "Really? Color coded schedules?"
Gwen's face turned a cute shade of pink. "What's so wrong about that? It was so I won't do the same thing two days in the row for the summer."
"Clever." I giggled at her reaction. "I wish I was that organized."
"Moooving on!" Ben interrupted, giving me a look. "I wanna hear about how you turned into an alien! That's so freaking cool!" He spotted the Omnitrix on my arm and grabbed it, pulling it closer to see. "Does this turn you into aliens?"
"Yep, though there is a time limit for how long I can stay as one." I smiled at his enthusiasm, deciding to explain the watch to them. "See how the face is red? That means it's in cooldown, so I have to wait a bit before I can do it again."
"Awww…." Ben groaned, a little upset that I can't transform back to back. "How long do you have to wait?"
Scratching my chin, I hummed a little in thought. "Uh, five minutes, I think?"
"Well, at least we don't have to wait all that long." Ben smiled at me.
"No showing off yet." Gwen spoke up, raising a brow at the both of us. "We still have that third robot to deal with."
A few minutes went by as I made a plan with my favorite duo. I showed them all the Aliens I had once the Omnitrix finished its cooldown, taking a little pride in showing off. It wasn't too long until we decided on good ol' Diamond Head, ruling out Upgrade since I wanted to be careful about any defensive things the robot might have against him.
Once we finished planning, completely disregarding Ben's idea of just running through the woods and hunting down the robot, my stomach growled. "Oh, heh, do you guys have anything to eat around here?"
Ben and Gwen shared a look, their faces paling at a memory. "Uh, you might not want what grandpa has." Gwen shuddered. "Unless you want some marinated mealworms… Or the sheep's tongue."
I shuddered, gagging a little. "No thank you."
"Well, I've got some hard candies and rice cakes in my pack if you want some." Gwen then glared at Ben. "And I think he can share at least half the candy bar he has in his."
"Uh, no. Not happening." Ben denied, shaking his head. "I called dibs on it, and nobody's gonna take it away."
"Oh really?" I smiled evilly at him, raising the Omnitrix. "I wonder if one of the gal's in this will change your tune?" I then frowned a little. "Wait, what kind of bar is it?"
"A Hershey's bar, why?"
"And it's been in the heat, in your pack, since you've started this trip, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Never mind, I don't want it." I sighed, hopes dashed. "It's probably a melted mess by now…"
"Ah, my stuff!" Ben panicked, quickly getting up and going into the Rust Bucket to save his things from a chocolatey doom.
"That idiot… he probably left the wrapper open after getting a bite." Gwen giggled, a wide smile on her face.
"Let's just hope his clothes are safe from the chocolate mess." I laughed with her. "Man, I'm glad I'm here. I can just tell hanging with you guys is going to be fun!" I held up my hand, to which she happily slapped.
Gwen gave me a sly smile. "I'm happy you're here. You're going to make our trip very… interesting." She looked at the Omnitrix in thought for a second. "Can you take that off? Maybe even lend it to me for a bit once you deal with the robot?"
"I know that there's a way… Buuut, I can't remember it." I shrugged, shaking my head. "Some kind of voice code thing I need to say."
"Really?"
"Yup. The only code I know is this… Access master control." I spoke up, earning a blip from my alien watch in response.
"Access denied." It replied in a robotic tone.
"Huh? Didn't expect that." I raised a brow, giving it a few pokes. "You got anything else to say?"
"Negative." It gave out a little chime. "I am not yet programmed for conversation."
"Uh, okay? So can I ask for a few more aliens to be unlocked?" I blinked, scrunching my face at it.
"Within a few restrictions." It replied. "Is there anything you request?"
"How about…. that ice bug one?" I slowly said.
"Please elaborate. There are…. 1,000 insectoid species that use ice in some form."
"The one that can fly and go intangible."
"Request for Necrofriggian DNA confirmed…." It whirred for a moment, the face of the Omnitrix slowly spinning and turning a gentle blue. "Processing….."
"I assume that you totally meant to do that?" Gwen deadpanned, causing my face to heat up in embarrassment. "How did you know about that bug one?"
"I saw one." I shyly looked away from her. "And, if we get it, we won't have to worry about an air conditioner on this trip ever again."
"Cool, I've always wanted a living AC." Gwen joked, giggling a little. "I don't trust the air conditioner in the Rust Bucket anyways."
"Request…. approved." The Omnitrix chimed, showing the silhouette of Big Chill on its face.
"Thank you, Omni." I thanked it, smiling a little. "Let's hope you are one of those learning AI's. If so, we are going to be great friends."
"... Designation change: Omni…. Change approved…." It's lights blinked, green changing into a gentle pink. "User, I do learn from my bearers. I am just in default mode." It informed, the synthesized voice taking on a feminine tone. "I was designed to provide assistance and some companionship as I adapt to his or her needs upon activation, becoming more efficient as time went on."
"Neat, my nerdy fantasies are coming true." I fangirled at the piece of tech on my wrist. "I'm looking forward to how you turn out."
"Turn out?" It asked, confused.
"She means what you develop into." Gwen explained with a smile. "Or rather… Who."
"Thank you, term saved in glossary." It thanked. "Going into rest mode…."
As Omni went quiet, the Omnitrix's lights staying pink as the AI went to sleep, I ignored the mischievous look Gwen gave me, deciding to go inside the Rust Bucket to look for something somewhat edible.
"Soooo?" Gwen drawled as I got up. "Nerdy fantasies?" She asked with a giggle. "Should I be getting some glasses for you?"
"Shut up…." I groaned, my face heating up. "I am a nerd, okay?" I admitted, just knowing that my ears are turning red. "I sat through all of the Star Wars movies and Lord of the Rings. I've even watched all of Star Trek... Including all the spinoffs."
"Whoa, turbo nerd territory, eh?" Gwen asked in awe, letting out a low whistle.
"Yep…." I squeaked out.
Gwen pat my head, surprising me at the action. "Nothing to worry about." She laughed at my reaction. "It shows that you are way smarter than my dweeb cousin."
"T-Thanks." I managed to stutter out, dashing the rest of the way into the RV, wanting nothing else but to get away from the butterflies in my belly.
I sighed as I stood in the doorway, leaning into a nearby cabinet. "Great…." I chastised myself, closing my eyes. "Just make yourself seem even weirder, why don't ya…."
Max saw me come in all flustered, but said nothing nonetheless, only sending a curious look my way as he listened to the radio. Ben, who was slowly pulling his clothes out his pack, chocolate staining everything and dripping off of a few unlucky articles.
"I told you so." I laughed at Ben, earning an unamused glare. "What? It should be common knowledge that you don't hide an open chocolate bar in your pack, in the middle of summer."
"Shut up…." Ben scowled at his pack, slowly pulling out a white shirt that had a large brown stain on its front. "I thought it would be fine."
"Just remember not to do it again." I told him as I opened the fridge, almost recoiling at the sight of a bowl filled with wriggling mealworms. "Isn't there any normal food in here?"
Max laughed. "I planned to make this trip an adventure for my grandkids' taste buds. I wasn't really expecting to take on another kid, so you're gonna have to share with them."
With a little sigh, I took a bottled water. "You really gotta get some normal food." I told him as I took a swig, shutting the fridge door with my elbow. "I know how to cook some pretty fancy stuff if you really want them to try some new foods." I gave him a knowing smile. "I can even whip up some sheep's tongue for you, alongside a nice homemade chicken noodle soup for Ben, Gwen and I."
"You can cook?" Ben asked, his clothes momentarily forgotten.
"I used to cook with my Uncle." Smiling at the memory, I nodded. "He had some weird tastes, sort of like gramps over here." I joked, earning a laugh from Max. "But I did learn how to cook up quite a few recipes that would blow your minds. How about you leave me in charge of the food for your guys' road trip?" I offered, Ben throwing a pleading look at his grandpa.
Max raised an eyebrow at me and was about to say something, until the radio crackled and a nervous sounding man started talking. "Uh, we need some help over here! We're being attacked by… You're not gonna believe this… a robot! We're at the ranger's station, please help!"
At this, I ran out of the RV getting Gwen and coming back in, Max quickly hopping into the driver's seat and driving somewhere. I took a seat by the radio and picked up the microphone, telling the man that help is on its way.
The Rust Bucket raced to the location, taking only a few minutes to get there. Calmly, I went to the door, stopping just at the edge as Gwen gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Taking a deep breath, I went out, followed by the Tennyson's.
I saw the big robot fire a laser at a nearby SUV, causing it to explode in a shower of shrapnel and fire. There were a few people taking cover on the side of a building, one injured guy bleeding out of the many holes in his mangled hunk of swiss cheese of a leg.
Looking at the scene with a sinking feeling in my belly, fighting my many doubts about this situation I'm in. Could I really do this? This is my life now…. I'm going to have a dangerous life from now on…. The mercenaries…. Vilgax…. Even the ghostfreak incident…. I'm gonna have to deal with all of that….
I held up the Omnitrix, giving each of the Tennyson's a determined look as I pressed a button and twisted the face a few times. "Stay back and try to help evacuate some people. I don't want any of you to get hurt, okay?"
Without waiting for a reply, I ran towards the robot, climbing onto the hood of a car. "Hey, you transformer reject! Want this?!" I yelled at the massive thing, it tilting its head and holding one clawed hand in my direction. "Come and get it!"
And with that announcement, I slapped the face of the Omnitrix down, a bright green flash blinding everyone in the area as I transformed. In a matter of moments, my body hardened and grew into a slender crystalline woman, her whole cyan body shimmering in the firelight. My hair crystallized too, turning into multiple deep blue strands of crystals that were somehow flexible enough to move in the gentle breeze of the night. Two large cyan crystals jutted out the back of my white dress, just above my shoulder blades.
The transformation finished, ending with me leaping toward the robot's legs with a crystalline axe that formed from my left hand, taking a swipe at one of them with a yell. I was promptly kicked into a car, nearly hitting a man as he ran away from his hiding place. A laser hit my chest, slamming me deeper into bent metal as pain flared in my mind, a blackened mark where it hit.
"Louise!" I heard Gwen yell.
I hurriedly climbed out of the mangled mess of a car, spotting Gwen as she ran to me, bringing the robot's attention to her. It held up its hand toward her, the end lighting up as it charged up the attack.
"No!"
"Boom!"
The blast was deafening, making everything go quiet. My chest screamed at me in pain as I dropped to my knees and held my wound as a few shards fell from it, Gwen's face popping into my view as I saw her say something to me.
Taking a deep breath, I stood up, ignoring the stabbing pain and how Gwen tried to stop me her every word falling on my deaf ears. I used my free hand to gently push her away, giving her a small smile as I turned my left hand into a large shield big enough to protect us both for a moment.
"Go." Was all I said, making a diamond wall grow between us.
The robot kept firing lasers at me, each one reflecting off my shield and hitting just about everything around the robot. Having an idea, I angled the shield a little bit, like using a mirror to bounce a light. One beam, luckily for me, bounced off and vaporized the robot's head.
It stood still for a moment, all movement stopping as it froze in place with its arm still out. Then it fell, falling like a cut tree onto a park ranger's car and causing the ground to shake at the force it fell.
Chuckling weakly, I turned around and reverted my hand back to normal. A little crowd was cheering at the destruction of their attacker, all of them waving at me and hugging each other in happiness. All of the Tennyson's were on the sidelines watching me with various expressions on their faces. Gwen was looking at my cracked chest with a worried frown as she stood next to a cheering Ben, even Max looked a little worried for me.
I gave them a little nod and limped off to where I knew the road was, going past some trees that hid me from the watching crowd. Once I got to the road, I sat down, hissing a little in pain. My hearing came back a few minutes later once the Rust Bucket came to pick me up.
Gwen was the one to open the door, running out and giving me a hug. "Thanks for saving me, I owe you one." She thanked me, giving my cheek a small peck. "Now, are you okay? That looks like it hurts…."
The Omnitrix chose this moment to time out, turning me back to normal. I hissed a little in pain, a large purple bruise appearing on my chest. My dress did nothing to hide the bruise, giving Gwen a good look at it.
I coughed and smiled. "I'll be fine." I assured her, then frowned at her, having a thought as Max and Ben came out of the RV. "Now that you all know what's in store for me… Are you guys sure you want me to come along? You don't have to get involved with me if you don't want to…." I brought my gaze to the ground.
My face suddenly stung at Gwen's sudden slap, her glare scaring me a little. "Oh, no. You're coming with us." She then gave me a small smile, pink dusting her cheeks. "I'm not gonna let my hero save me without any reward."
"Yeah! Like I would let you go too, buddy. I need someone to save me from grandpa's food." Ben agreed, his face scrunching at the idea of eating mealworms. "You're staying."
Max smiled at me, getting closer to ruffle my hair. "Come on, kiddo. The more the merrier."
Sniffling, I hugged Gwen, practically crying from happiness. "Thank you!" I squeezed harder, not wanting to let go. "You guys are the best."
Gwen immediately returned my hug, her face turning a bright red.
A few minutes later, after dinner.
"I can't believe it…" Ben said in disbelief, burping a little. "You made sheep's tongue into actual food."
"Well, it was still kinda gross…." Gwen gave me a thankful look. "But Louise sure did her best to make it easier for us."
Max took another bite of his, a wide smile on his face. "Looks like we have a little chef with us now." He laughed. "You're in charge of cooking now, because of whatever you did to mine. Just one word: Yum!"
"I just made some things from scratch…" I shyly said, finishing my food. "You really need to get some normal things though. I can only do so much with the food you have already." I told him as I put way my plate. "Seriously, I've never even heard of canned octopus, and who gets pig testicles to snack on for a road trip?" I deadpanned, giving Max a flat look. "Oh wait… It's you!"
"I'll see about getting more food the next time we grocery shop." Max laughed at me.
I let out a loud yawn, tearing up a little. "Well, I think it's about time to sleep for me..." I said as I stretched, before blinking in realization. "Wait, where am I gonna sleep? Gwen and Ben have the bunks, and Max has his."
"You'll sleep with me." Gwen told me, her face taking on a pink hue. "I'm the only other girl here, so you'll share it with me." Then her face turned darker, realizing something. "And you don't have any other clothes, do you?"
"Er, no…"
Even Max's face turned pink at my confirmation. "We'll go clothes shopping real soon too… Gwen, she's about the same size as you, so you can share some of your clothes."
"I have a feeling this is gonna be a long trip….." I sighed, facepalming in embarrassment.
