Waning: This is Bwen (BenxGwen)

Chapter 2: It's Isn't You So It's Must Be Me

Ben Tennyson silently fumed as he exited the yellow school bus. This was typical for him on any school day. If it were ever up to him, he would stay home all day waiting for the next chance to save a few people and kick a few butts. Kids shoved him from behind trying to hurry towards the large beige school building ahead of them.

However, he was definitely in no hurry. With his head down, he trudged towards the school. As far as he knew, nothing at the school was worth running for. Soon though, he heard the shouts and cries from excited children and decided to spare a glance.

A few yards before him, and up the extended staircase to the front door, was a crowd of elementary grade kids. They were all crammed at the entrance looking as if they had all had an enormous sum of coffee that morning.

"Dude, come on we're gonna miss it!" a boy said to another child next to him.

"Hey! Miss what!" Ben called out, but got no answer.

Quickly, he followed them up and ended joining the crowd. At the head were at least three teachers holding the kids back.

"Calm down! All of you. This is not a matter to be taken lightly," a grown man with rounded spectacles yelled.

"What's going on!" shouted someone.

The teacher who had spoken looked to a more professional dressed adult – which Ben knew all too well as the school's principal. With a nod, the teacher continued.

"The school has been infested...with some orange dog."

All the eyes of the kids looked at him with confusion and disbelief.

"An orange dog?" JT questioned. "Really Mr. Benard, you expect us to believe that?"

"That's the truth young man."

JT rolled his eyes through his glasses and turned away.

All the while, Ben was at the back listening to what was happening. He was definitely happy that school seemed to be out of order for a while, but the comment about an orange dog got his attention. What kind of dog is...orange?

This looks like another job for a hero. Alright! He screamed to himself. Any chance he got to transform into an alien and grab attention, he would take it without hesitation.

"This is just getting to easy," he said as he prepared the Omnitrix for yet another transformation.

"Messin' with that stupid watch again, Tennyson," said a boy with athletic shorts and a black crop of hair upon his head.

Ben's eyes rose. "What do you want Cash?"

"Well since we can't get into the school yet, I just thought I'd give you your afternoon wedgie before hand. You know, to soften you up for the next one." Without even allowing Ben to move, Cash flung himself at the ten year old and pulled his hands behind his back.

"Hey! Let go!" Ben cried, and managed to land a kick on Cash's knee – breaking him free.

"Ouch! Get back here you runt!" he called out as his recoiled and began to chase after Ben.

Running towards a tree at the side of the schoolyard, Ben dived behind the trunk knowing that everyone else was too occupied with whatever was actually in the school.

Raising his left arm he prepared the alien technology and selected Four Arms.

"Just wait until Cash realizes that he's the one getting a wedgie," he said ominously.

The moment Ben had planned on pressing the Omnitrix dial, another hand beat him there and blocked his own. Startled at the fact it might be the bully he was running from, he looked up with a flinch.

"Grandpa told you about playing with that thing," Gwen said eying him motherly.

"Hey Ben, did you think that tree would save you?" Cash spoke just before seeing the girl in front of Ben. "You better leave girlie, I'm sure you wouldn't want to see what I'm about to do to this stupid kid."

Gwen's eyes shifted from Ben to Cash's. "Walk away if you know what's good for you."

"Oh no I'm scared. The smarty-pants girl is threatening me. Seriously, get out before I hang you by this tree along with runt over there."

Cash made the initiative to move towards Ben, but as soon as he was within arms reach, a foot found its way to his chin. His body flailing backwards, the tall black-haired boy landed upon the ground abruptly – wondering what had just happened.

Ben looked up at his cousin – who had just performed and kick-flip. "Whoa..."

Smacking her hands together as if she had just taken out a bag of trash, Gwen looked towards the crowded school entrance. "Some boys really need to learn to mature. Now get up."

Ben did so, but without taking his eyes off of her. He had seen Gwen fight before, but never so close. And he never knew how much damage she actually packed.

He shook his head. "Gwen, there's something in the school. I really need to check it out. The teacher said it was some orange dog. Sounds like a..."

"Wild Mutt?" she filled in for him, having a strange gleam in her eye.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. So I was gonna go hero and check it out."

Gwen huffed. "You mean you were gonna check it out after hanging Cash from a tree branch."

Ben sighed, and hid a rueful expression. "No."

"Sure..."

"Not the point Gwen. But really I need to go."

"Fine," she agreed. "Just don't let Grandpa know what you're doing."

"You mean, don't let me let you tell Grandpa what I'm doing."

"Just go."

Ben didn't need her to say anymore. He started running around the side of the building and took another curve towards the back. With no one in sight, he was now able to change into one of his aliens.

With a sleight of hand, he quickly fiddled with the Omnitrix and felt his body go through yet another sensation of changes.

It's always weird when I do this, he thought as he felt weird pulses under his arms near his ribs. And then: Why does Gwen seem more like my mom than my actual mom does...

After several seconds, Ben Tennyson's human form was gone and replaced by a large tetramand.

"Alright! Four Arms of muscle coming in!"

Heading up the stairs of the back of the school, Ben shoved open the doors – which had been locked. He ducked his head as he made it into the building. The titles were white with black specs and the walls were a white plaster.

"I hate this place," he grumbled, stomping down the hallway like a monster lurking for prey.

All the classrooms were empty. Brown wooden desks and blue chairs were left bare without their student companions to occupy them. That's the way Ben preferred it.

Soon he passed the cafeteria, and listened as he heard metal clashing against metal. Nobody was supposed to be in the school – especially not the cafe workers.

Taking yet another duck, Ben walked into the enormous room with his feet slamming heavily against the tile. The noise obviously startled whatever was lurking behind the aluminum counters.

"Whatever you are," Ben pleaded, "please don't destroy the one place in this school that isn't all that bad."

As if his words were a summoning spell, a Vulpermancer stormed out from behind the empty-tray lined counter. Flinging itself through the air, the orange fur upon it's eyeless body swayed in an odd fashion as it tried to tackle Ben.

Using his four large, muscular arms he braced his body for an impact, but felt barely a push when the beast-like monster came at him. Without using too much effort, Ben was able to swing the Vulpermancer around and slam him into a nearby wall – causing plaster to crumble.

"This place needed to be remodeled anyways."

Sensing that it was outmatched in brute strength, the creature stormed out of the cafeteria through the double-doorway and raced down the hall.

Ben attempted to grab it, but with his weight he was much too slow.

"Darn! Now I have to catch it too..."

Walking back out of the cafe room, he headed down the hall with a look of annoyance on his crinkled red face. Ben never did like the run-and-hide tactic, and this was why.

While stalking down a side hallway, he peeked out of the long glass windows and spied Gwen still standing by the tree. But for some reason, she seemed to be a bit blurry, and the glass was clean as a whistle.

"Must be my eyes," Ben said, but soon realized that all of the other kids were clear to him. They were, of course, still held at the front door waiting for the police to show up and really bring in some action.

"Weird..." he announced just before hearing a slam next to him.

Turning by reflex, his eyes met that of a Vulpermancer – the same one he thought he would be chasing around. It had been knocked into the wall by...something.

Looking down the T-shaped hall, Ben noticed a familiar black figure walking like some model upon the tiled flooring.

"What are you doing here!" Ben yelled. "That one was mine!"

For the first time since he had ever saw the masked hero, he actually responded.

"Doesn't matter. I was here, and I got to it first. You're too slow," The voice wasn't deep, or boyish like Ben had expected. It was high, smooth and girlie. But there was something to it that offset the normal tone people had. There was an obvious shimmer to it. It almost sounded...inhuman.

"You're a...girl?" he asked.

"Yes, block head I am."

"And you're not afraid of me?"

There was a pause as she petted the body of the unconscious Vulpermancer. "You alien heroes are all over TV. Not real scary."

Ben eyed her with suspicion. Even though the only part of her body that he could see was the bottom of her face, her outfit seemed familiar.

Slowly, he looked back out the large window behind him. Gwen was still by the tree. That was that possibility out the window.

"What's your name?" Ben asked, turning around only to find out that the girl and Vulpermancer were gone.

"Where did she...where's that..." he looked around as if they had originally been in another spot. No matter where he looked, they were not there. The only evidence that was left of the furtive hero and the battle was the destruction to property.

With a few beeps and a flash, the ten year old Ben Tennyson stood in the hallway of the school. He wanted to run down the halls and look for the girl, but the sound of a loud slam and heavy leather boots stomping near the front called off his plan. The police had arrived and it was time to bail.

He left through the back easily and tied once more around the corner of the school. As soon as he spied the tree ahead of him, where Gwen had originally been standing, he realized she was gone.

Blinking, he made sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks with his mind. He had just seen her standing very still in that very spot. And now she was gone.

"Okay. I'm officially insane. I was fighting an invisible monster with an invisible girl and I had seen my invisible cousin. Somebody strap me down..."

Ben rubbed his head and continued walking around the school, only to find Gwen sitting away from the abundant crowd – which had moved around the front school windows to watch the police look for nothing. She had a book out in front of her with her legs crossed and her backpack at her side whilst sitting upon a bench.

He walked up to her and sat down. "Did you see anyone else go in there while I was inside the school."

She seemed preoccupied with reading and paid little attention to him. He noticed her breathing was a little bit heavy.

"No, you were the only other person...or freak...to go inside." She smiled at him at the word freak.

"I'm serious, Gwen."

"And so am I. Nobody else went in there, Ben. You went in, you came out." She flipped a page from her book. "Did you ever find the orange dog?"

"Yeah...I think so," he said as he stood and slowly walked off into the distance towards the school.

. . .

School eventually continued on that day. The police came out twenty minutes after searching the entire building and signally the all clear. They had reported nothing but bad plumbing in one bathroom, as well as some mysterious damage to a few walls. No orange dog, which left a few of the teachers in hot water with some students as well as psychiatrists.

Throughout his classes, Ben sat with his head down and his mind elsewhere. He cared little for whatever was being taught there and continued to go through the mind-boggling event that the morning had brought him.

There was some mysterious girl going around and kicking up bad guys – and she didn't even seem to have super powers. His first guess had been leading up to Gwen and her Lucky Girl routine, but he had seen her standing under the tree when the black-clad heroine had been talking to him. To add on, her voice was much different from Gwen's. Who was it?

He never did find out that day by simply thinking about it. He blandly road the bus home to his house, withstood the annoyance of idiots at the back of the bus, and went home with more homework to not do.

After eating dinner with his parents and brushing his teeth – something Gwen had always suspected he never did – he jumped in the shower for a few minutes and was off to bed.

Just before falling asleep, however, he had watched the news in hopes of finding another robbery or some house on fire. All was quiet.

With nothing left to do, he fell asleep. Dreaming of paparazzi praising him for his good deeds, as well as having a black figure stand next to him.