When Life Gives You Lemons

by Creaturemaster

Note: Author suggests to read "We Are Monsters" in order for this to make a clear amount of sense. Ben and the ghouls have just come back from their adventures at Haunted High, and return to find out that it's Ben birthday! Everyone's having a grand, old time . . . and the ghouls have a special surprise in store for their man. Includes one-shots with other ghouls later on!

2. Cheating Scales and Lying Shadows

Before I begin, I just want to say that the only reason I'm posting this bit is because I want to make my We're All Monsters story more safe/less likely to get taken down for inappropriate content and rating. So, I've taken the lemon scene between Ben and Lagoona from the chapter "Cheating Scales and Lying Shadows" and posted it here for all of you to enjoy.

I honestly didn't expect to make this kind of change, but I wanted to give people options when it came to my stories (plus, I also don't want to have it take down for inappropriate content and rating). I'm contemplating on whether I should turn this into a mini series, where it tells about some of the more . . . intimate . . . moments between Ben and his ghouls when we aren't tuning in on the chapters. These will in no way actually affect the story, but it's just something that happens. I might even decide to take this a step further and pair alternate versions of Ben with other ghouls that aren't even in his harem in the main timeline (not that that will have actually ever happened).

As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!

Onwards!

Ben sucked in a breath of air and expelled heavily, sliding down the wall of the dorm. So much had happened so quickly; he had found out that another one of his transformations had somehow managed to develop a consciousness and become smitten with one of his friends, the magic shields limiting Gigi and Whisp's power and been decimated, and to top it all off, one of his closest friends had gone an out of control, animalistic rampage trying to mate with him. All in all, just an average day in the life of Ben Tennyson.

To make matters worse, Lagoona had been strictly avoiding him at all costs. Whenever Ben entered a room she was already in she quickly stop whatever she was doing, no matter what is was, and leave them room and not come back, regardless of how long Ben was in the room; if the exit was blocked, Lagoona took a leaf out of Jane's book and escaped through the air ducts to parts unknown. Ben knew she had her reasons for avoiding him, and he couldn't blame her for it, but really did hurt deep down. Having to subject someone you really cared about to something as horrible as Toepick's face really put a damper on things.

With another heavy sigh, Ben slid back up the wall and decided her needed to calm his frayed his nerves. He decided against working out at the gym; he was tired enough already. So, against his better judgment , he chose to swim a few laps in the pool in the hopes that the cooling water would soothe his aching muscles. Without a word, he changed into his swim trunks and bunched up his clothes into a wad that he carried under his arm as he strolled down the hall, the Omnitrix and Skurd still on his wrist.

Ben had to admit, it took a little time to get used to the fact that he couldn't do things without the 100% assurance that he was completely alone. Having an annoying Slimebiote that refused to remove himself from your wrist was proof of that. But after several embarrassing mishaps involving the bathroom, the pair had come a sort of agreement on things: Skurd would slither off to some other place whenever had to do things in absolute privacy, such as taking the few showed he chose to partake in or using the bathroom, and then later reattach himself to the Omnitrix when the thought suited him. Occasionally, the Slimebiote would join Ben in shower, which created some awkward moments. Especially when he started singing.

After a few minutes of walking down the hallway, his bare feet slapping against the cold floor of the base, he came to the door of the pool. Security had been tightened after heath's little incident, and those who had access to the pool were required to do so by scanning their hand. Ben did exactly this, resting his hand on the scan pad and waiting a few seconds as the device read over his unique finger prints and confirmed it was him; the door slid open with a beep and a silent hiss and the intoxicating smell of chlorine met Ben's senses. He walked into the room, the door sliding shut behind him as he carelessly tossed his clothes to the side as he walked to the very edge of the pool, the warm water lapping against the sides.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to stay dry, dear boy." said Skurd, twisting his gelatinous body around Ben's arm and oozing down to the ground. "Have fun!" he exclaimed, giving his partner a mock salute before oozing off to parts unknown to do whatever it was that little Slimebiote's did. Ben ignored the little creature and sat down on the edge of the pool, dipping his feet into the water. He understood why Lagoona was avoiding him, needing time to piece her shattered mind and heart back together, but for some reason he really wanted her company. He needed to talk to someone he could just complain about the world to, and Lagoona was one of the few people who would fit what he needed. He could have gone to Hoodude or heath, but known of them would have understood what he had gone through. Gil would have been furious, Ghoulia never had any experience with this kind of thing, and his ghouls were a bit too personal to talk with. In fact, none of them other than Twyla even knew what had happened to him and Lagoona, but they sure seemed to notice Lagoona's strange behavior.

Ben sighed and turned to the Omnitrix on his wrist. This was the entire reason he was in this mess to begin with. It was the device that was permanently strapped to his wrist that had caused him all this trouble. Ever since he found it, he had been plunged head first into a world full of pain, misery, and death. It seemed no matter who he was close to, they ended up more hurt than he; in all his years of wielding the Omnitrix, the most severe injury he had ever sustained was nothing more than a broken arm. Meanwhile, Grandpa Max had nearly died at the hands of Rojo, Pierce had lost his life to the Forever Knights, and countless other lives had been lost at his hands. And it was all the Omnitrix's fault.

And yet, as much grief and despair the Omnitrix brought him, it also brought him great joy. He loved the feeling of becoming something new, something powerful, something the world had never seen before in all its days. He loved the feeling of all types of power at his fingertips, of feeling invincible against his many enemies. He loved the feel of the wind rushing past his face as he flew, the feeling of the water swishing past his face as he swam the deepest depths, the feeling of raw strength and power coursing through every muscle of his body as he lifted objects of impossible weights over his head to smash them down on those that dared to hurt his friends, family, and the world. In fact, he could hardly remember what it was like to be without the Omnitrix, to be absolutely powerless and be totally normal.

"Sometimes, I really hate you," Ben sighed, talking to the Omnitrix as if it were his last friend in the world. And in a way, it was. When others had failed him, when others had left him alone and abandoned, the Omnitrix had always been there for him with its soft green glow and its millions of DNA samples. "Then again, you never let me down." he smiled, lightly touching his finger to the face plating and turning on the Omnitrix, the familiar green hologram popping up in front of his eyes. Dozens of transformations whizzed by his eyes, a few he didn't recognize; he would have to try them out later. He instead selected an old favorite of his and pressed down on the activation button, not moving a muscle as the Omnitrix did its magic and changed his body. Ben's skin turned a gelatinous white, becoming softer and squishier as light blue blotches decorated his arms, making him look like he was wearing a lava lamp for a skin. Webbing began to form between his arms as his bones began to dissolve and disappear altogether. Ben's now limb arms split in two, creating a second pair of tentacles as all the digits on his hands fused together. His legs became long tendrils as his body became segmented into three skirt-like sections. His eyes became black and beady as the Omnitrix symbol appearing over where his mouth would have been.

"Thanks." AmpFibian smiled a mouth less grin. With a deep breath he floated a few feet off the ground before pumping his body and diving into the pool with a splash and letting his gelatinous body sink to the very bottom of the pool, a good fifty feet from the surface. Once there, he sucked in water through a hidden siphon before pumping it out, undulating his body to push himself forward beneath the water's surface. The water felt cool and good against his smooth, boneless body; while not necessarily his human muscles, he almost always felt refreshed after using the Omnitrix for a quick work out. If only the ghouls could understand the wonders of changing into something you were never meant to be and have it be so natural you hardly thought about it.

No sooner had the thought come to mind, did he here a dull splash overhead, the sound of someone else in the water with him. AmpFibian chose to cautious and flattened his boneless body against the bottom of the pool, his white and blue body camouflaging himself from whoever was in the water with him. He rotated his beady black eyes skyward, seeing a feminine figure against the blue canvas overhead moving through the water with ease, as if she were born into the element; this worried the Amperi a little since there was only one ghoul who fit the description.

He remained silent and pressed his body further against the bottom of the pool in the hopes she wouldn't see him as she dived deeper into the pool, her expression unreadable. Ben had to admit, she was absolutely stunning looking and she was absolutely amazing in the water. But she and Gil were together, and he was not eager to get into the middle of a love triangle again. Nonetheless, he silently watched Lagoona swim about the pool, moving through the water with such grace it seemed impossible for someone who was mortal. He watched as she swam several laps around the pool, moving the water with ease as pushed herself forward with her webbed hands and feet, her blonde and blue locks trailing out behind her.

"ACH-OOO!" AmpFibian suddenly sneezed, a plume of bubbles escaping from the place his mouth might have been, Lagoona suddenly stopped swimming and whipped around in the water, her eyes glancing all around in the search for the source of the sound; the Amperi could only hope his camouflage worked.

"Ben?" Lagoona said, startled.

"Darn it!" AmpFibian cursed, prying himself free from the bottom of the pool, floating on the bottom as Lagoona kicked her legs for the surface, attempting to run. "Okay, that's it." the Amperi grumbled before giving a furious pump of his body and shooting off after the sea monster, his tentacles trailing out behind him as he quickly closed the gap between him and Lagoona. Just when it seemed Lagoona would make her getaway and leave Ben once more to go and hide again, AmpFibian stretched out his main of tentacles and wrapped them around Lagoona's legs and pulling back as hard as he could. Lagoona had managed to dig her fingers into the lip of the pool, the two of them caught in the middle of tug o' war game as bit by bit Lagoona pulled herself up over the side of the pool. Eventually, the tension on AmpFibian's tentacles become too much and he pulled forward by the snap back, leaving the water and sailing through the air before smacking into a wall and sliding down to the floor.

"Ow." he moaned, picking himself up to see Lagoona gathering her clothes and making a getaway to the door of the pool. AmpFibian narrowed his eyes and took to the air, pumping his body furiously until he managed to pull ahead of the sea monster and close her off at the door, seriously annoyed.

"Lagoona! I just wanna talk!" he pleaded, his tentacles crackling with electricity. "Don't make me shock you again!"

Lagoona froze and tried to find someway, anyway to get around the Amperi without getting shocked, but all exits were closed off; the only exit was blocked by her friend, and all the air vents were too high for her to get to. With a reluctant sigh, Lagoona surrendered and dropped her bundle of clothes to the floor as the Omnitrix timed out and reverted Ben back to his human form.

"Good," Ben breathed with relief. Lagoona sighed and turned away, walking back to the pool and sitting down on the edge, her feet in the water; being near any large source of water usually helped calm herself when she was faced with something that bothered her. And in this, it was Ben as he sat down next to her, the two sitting in silence before he eventually spoke up.

"Lagoona, why have you been avoiding me?" Ben asked. "I mean, I get that we both went through something that was super uncomfortable, but-"

"Exactly," Lagoona sighed. "I practically raped you!"

"You weren't in control of yourself," Ben reassured her. "Besides, it's all over."

"But it could happen again," Lagoona worried, not meeting his gaze. "It may not be as furious as before, it could happen!"

"So? I'll just restrain you again?"

"You never cease to be cocky, do you?" Lagoona sighed. "I'm just saying Ben, that at one point or another, you may not win. I may go ahead and-" she trailed off, her voice cracking slightly. "I just don't want to do something I'm gonna regret." she croaked. Uncomfortable silence followed afterward as Lagoona held her arms tightly, turned away from Ben with her head pointed towards her knees. She honestly didn't know what to do now; she nearly killed Ben at several points during those terrifying twenty-four hours, and she was sure her relationship with Gil was all but shattered. She hadn't seen him since the whole mess started.

"Lagoona, why out of everyone in this entire base, your boyfriend included, did you chose me?" Ben asked after a while of just listening to the water slapping against the sides of the pool.

Lagoona shifted her head to look at him with weary eyes before speaking. "Like I said before I . . . died . . . I kinda fell for you, too. You just seem so brave and confident in yourself. Gil, it took him nearly four months for him to even work up the nerve to tell his parents about our relationship and even longer for him to even tell them off," she replied. "You, you could do it without breaking a sweat!"

"Well, why did you fall in love with Gil in the first place?" Ben asked.

"I dunno. He was so handsome and kind to me when I could hardly tell him that I liked him. It took an unfortunate and embarrassing notebook accident for our relationship top actually start." Lagoona admitted. "I still loved him after that, but our relationship started to kinda fall apart when Gil's parents got involved." she said sadly. Ben turned what she had told him over and around in his head, trying to figure out one way or another to fix the whole problem; the only solution he actually managed to figure out was a ways away, and it involved kicking Zs'Skayr and Maltruant's butts.

"So why are you so unsure about choosing between me and Gil? You and Gil were together first, and I respect that. You two belong together." Ben told her.

Lagoona shook her head sadly. "I can't decide. You have everything Gil doesn't have, and Gil has every thing you don't have."

"Like what?" Ben asked.

"Standard hygiene, for one!" Skurd's voice rang out from somewhere in the room. Ben and Lagoona whipped their heads around, trying to find the slimy, little Slimebiote; they gave up after a few minutes and returned to their conversation.

"Can I . . . ask you something?" Lagoona asked nervously, biting her lip.

"What?" Ben asked, slightly wary.

"Will you . . . kiss me?" she asked shakily.

"WHAT!?" Ben recoiled.

"I know it sounds looney, mate, and believe I think it is, too," Lagoona admitted quickly. "But I can't end this whole mess without doing this. I can't put this to rest without-"

"Cheating on your boyfriend with me?" Ben interjected, annoyed.

"No!" Lagoona protested. "Ben, I love you! I love Gil! I just can't decide who I want to be with!" she pleaded.

"So, it's just a test then?" Ben asked. Lagoona shrugged her shoulders slowly nodded her head. Ben mulled the thought over his head; would he regret doing this to someone he cared about, Lagoona in this case? She was actually willing to do it, practically begging him to do it. And, he had to admit, she stunning to look at too. And, as an added bonus, only he would know about the kiss when the whole time travel mess was over with; future Lagoona would no longer exist, and she wouldn't have tried to rape him in her unstable state. In fact, all issues that had happened to him in the future would have ceased to exist altogether.

"Why not?" Ben surrendered. "But you're explaining it to Gil if he finds out."

Lagoona eagerly agreed. "So, uh, I guess I kiss you now?" Ben guessed, unsure. Lagoona bobbed her head and slowly reached with a shaky hand and rested it on Ben's, her face a dark shade of purple and Ben's a lighter shade of red. They both leaned forward, eyes jammed shut under their lips barely grazed each other; Ben had to admit, it felt wonderful. Lagoona slowly, cautiously, reached her and slid them around Ben's neck as she deepened the kiss slightly by fully engulfing his lips. Ben didn't struggle and snaked his arms around her waist, letting her do what she wanted. He flet her tongue slip past her lips run over his teeth and battling his own tongue as she moaned, shifting her hands to rest on his bare chest, marveling at how hard it was. She felt Ben inch his hands around her back, rubbing small circles with his hands; she slipped one hand off of Ben's chest and grabbed one of his wrists in it, moving it down to her ass and pressing it down hard. Ben's eyes snapped open and he tore his lips away from her, giving her a stunned look.

"You might as well enjoy it too, mate." Lagoona smiled, resting her head in the crook of his neck. Ben smiled and gave a small kiss to her forehead brush, running his fingers through her blonde locks as he roughly squeezed one of her ass cheeks, running his fingers in wide, calming circles. The sea monster moaned softly and dipped out her tongue to trace it around Ben's neck, lightly kiss the area as Ben continued to stroke her head, his eyes closed as she worked. She reached up to take his hand off of her head and tracing it down back towards her thigh where she lifted up the fabric of her swimsuit enough for her to slip his hand underneath.

"Just a kiss, huh?" Ben teased as Lagoona turned indigo.

"What can I say? You aren't getting anything Gil hasn't already got." she purred, kissing his cheek. She moaned further as Ben underneath her swimsuit over her scales, tracing down her lower back and over the very edge of her ass before moving it up her back. Lagoona moaned again as Ben tightly squeezed her ass again. Lagoona lunged forward and thrust her lips onto his, knocking him flat onto his back and on the edge of the pool, moving her lips and snaking her tongue back inside his mouth again, diggin her fingers into his dark, brown hair.

"Lagoona, we're about to-" Ben tried to say through the sea monster's lips, but it was too late. With a loud splash, the two of them entered the pool, still in each others embrace as they sank to the bottom, bubbles escaping through Ben's nose as air disappeared through his lungs. For a second, Ben worried that was going to drown and that Lagoona would simply be making out with his lifeless corpse, when he felt fresh air enter his lungs through his mouth. He opened his eyes to see Lagoona's gills fluttered open, pumping in water through them, filtering out the air and forcing it into Ben's body, keeping him alive. Ben was about thank Lagoona as they finally hit the bottom of the pool, when Lagoona removed her hands from his head and brought them back to her person. Ben was treated to show as Lagoona slipped her fingers under the strap of her pink one-piece and stripped it off of her body, exposing her bare, light blue breasts as she remained lip locked with him and finally tore the clothing off of her body entirely.

Ben took the opportunity to break away from Lagoona, earning a disappointed look as he quickly accessed the Omnitrix and cycled through the available transformations before finding the right one and slapping the activation button. Scales raced up his arms and legs as they swelled, muscles building and bones strengthening. His fingers became clawed and webbed as the scales raced to cover the rest of him. Three slits appeared on either side of his neck and puffed open and shut as they sucked in air. A thin sheen of slime covered the scales as his hair disappeared into his scalp. Veins throbbed and pulsed as alien blood pumped through them and into his ever changing organs. His forehead to pulse and swell, like there was giant zit that was about to explode. And explode it did; a thin, green wire popped out of his forehead and hung in front of his face as the end began to glow and eerie color. His jaw swelled bulged and bucked until several rows of razor sharp teeth popped out and curved themselves over his lips. His eyes became that of a deep sea creature as two sharp fins rose from his back, completing the transformation.

"What is with you and keeping your clothes on?" Ripjaws joked.

Lagoona gave him a seductive smile and merely captured his toothy lips into another kiss, slipping her long tongue past his cage of razor sharp fangs. She felt the Piscciss Volann's webbed hands slip down her body, cupping her ass and holding her close as she wrapped her slender legs around hits waist, his fish tail slipping between her legs and cradling her as they floated on the bottom of the pool. Lagoona then grabbed Ripjaw's muscled hands in hers and slipped them off of her ass, bring them up to grope her breasts.

"So what, were just having sex now?" he gurgled, slightly uncomfortable.

Lagoona shook her head. "Nah, I'm saving that little surprise for the one I truly love. You're just getting what Gil already got." she repeated with a toothy smile before sliding her extendable tongue out between her fangs and wrapping it around his thick neck, tracing the very tip on the edges of his fluttering gills as they sucked in water and pumped it out. The Piscciss Volann felt a low grow escape his mouth, almost like a loud purr as Lagoona did her work. While she did that, Ripjaws pleasured her by massaging her breasts, tracing the very tips of his claws over them as he would squeeze them tightly every now and then, a low moan escaping Lagoona's lips as her nipples hardened, her moaning increasing when Ripjaws brushed a finger past them.

The Piscciss Volann was in for the surprise of his life however, when Lagoona moved her head away from his and pulled his hands off of her bust, swimming down to his groin area and gripping the material of his tail. She gave him a seductive and warning smile as she yanked the material all the way down for his long, slender dick to flop out. Ripjaws gurgled, a cloud of bubbles exploding out and to the surface as Lagoona slipped her lips over the organ and slithered her long tongue around it in cork screw fashion. After sucking on the tip a little, she began to bob her head back and forth, twisting her tongue around and around. Ripjaws was growling once more with pleasure, savoring the intense feeling that was coursing through his body. He eventually rested his webbed hands on Lagoona's head, shoving her head forward so that she engulfed all of his dick in her mouth. Lagoona gagged from the sudden motion before easing into it, deep throating him easily. It seemed impossible that the Lagoona Ripjaws use to know, the Lagoona who put others before herself and was never one to ignore a friend in need, had become this girl who was willing to do such dirty things to him without another thought.

A lot changes when you're gone for fifty years, Ripjaws thought as Lagoona gave his dick one last suck before popping it out of his mouth. The Piscciss Volann was almost disappointed, but this quickly turned into pleasure when Lagoona cupped her breasts and slid his dick between them, sandwiching it between her breasts as she pumped up and down; it felt amazing to Ripjaws. The sea monster then began pleasuring herself, rubbing her wet snatch against the rough skin of Ripjaws's tail, and he had a hard time believing it could possibly get any better. He was proven wrong when Lagoona teasingly and proactively licked the very tip of his dick, sending tidal waves of pleasure through his body. It seemed impossible for him to feel this good, and yet here he was feeling it at the bottom of the pool.

"Um, Lagoona? Ya might wanna pull back!" Ripjaws warned his friend as a tingling sensation came from his erection. Lagoona gave him a sexy smile and merely engulfed the whole thing in one mouthful, swirling her tongue around the very tip as she pumped her breasts faster and faster. Ripjaws gave a gargled screech as he thrust Lagoona's head down on his dick again, semen shooting out from the very tip of the organ and into Lagoona's mouth. The sea monster didn't even flinch or recoil, merely took it all in as she molested her breasts for Ripjaws to enjoy. And then, with a seductive smirk, she swallowed everything, spitting out Ripjaw's dick and giving him a smirk.

"Wow." was all he had to say.

"You actually pretty good, mate," Lagoona purred, swimming up to his face. "Gonna have to make a mental note of that." she smiled before capturing Ripjaws's lips in her own for once last kiss. They parted after a few minutes and then swam to the surface, both of them redressing themselves before they climbed out of the pool and dried themselves.

"We never speak of this again, agreed?" Ben asked as he slung his towel over his shoulder.

"Whatever you want, mate." Lagoona smiled, pecking him on the cheek. The moment quickly ended when the lights hanging over the pool suddenly went dim, cloaking the room in pitch black darkness. Unlike before however, there were no emergency red lights that came on after the power went out. A small flicker of light green came from somewhere in the darkness, a loud beeping sound bouncing off the walls before there came an explosion of green light as Ben slappeded the activation button on the Omnitrix. His skin started to harden, becoming unbearably hot and solid as rock. It suddenly split apart, floating like bath toys on a rapidly appearing magma sea. Hot, molten lava swirled and pushed it's way through the cracks and crevices of his skin as Ben's bones literally melted away. His hair began to burn, smoke curling lightly off it until it burst into flames, causing Lagoona to yelp in surprise. His fingers disappeared altogether as white hot lava covered them and solidified into a sort of gelatin like substance. His toes melted into two digits that resembled claws as his eyes turned bright yellow.

"What the Sphinx just happened?" Heatblast rasped.

"Ben? Ben! Do you read me!?" Twyla's panicked voice came from the Omnitrix.

Heatblast tapped the device on his chest. "I'm here, Twyla. Why the Sphinx did the lights go out?" he asked.

"Maltruant's back!" Twyla hissed angrily, just as a loud roar came over the Omnitrix, followed by panicked screams and machinery smashing and crashing. "And he's made trouble! Again!"

"Did he cut the power again?" Heatblast sighed.

"Not only that, he destroyed the power core entirely!" Twyla yelled, more screaming and bellowing coming from the other end.

"Um, what is that?" Heatblast asked warily.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Maltruant released the Omnibeast!" Twyla exclaimed, more destruction coming from her end of the conversation. "I gotta go! Avea, Bonita, and Sirena are waiting for you near the elevator, blocking his way to the storage! Meet 'em there and stop him at all costs! Gotta run!"

"Wait! What's the Omnibeast!?" Heatblast cried, but the line was already dead. Heatblast cursed under his breath and made his way through the darkness to the door, Lagoona following him. Unfortunately for him, the door to the pool didn't slide open like it always did; with the power off line for the time being, all the doors were locked shut. With an annoyed hiss as he pried his face off of the door, the Pyronite backed up a few feet before cupping his hands together and thrusting them forward, a ball of red, hot fire forming between his fingertips. He quickly released it and sent it flying at the door, watching as the ball of flame smashed right into the door and melted it into a pool of steel, the smell of hot metal filling the air.

"Stay safe," he instructed Lagoona as he stepped over the smoldering remains of the door. "Try and find my ghouls. I've got someone's clock to clean." he grumbled, jogging down the dark hallway and leaving Lagoona back by the pool.

"And now I'm here." Lagoona sighed in the darkness.

And there we go!

I honestly didn't expect to make this kind of change, but I wanted to give people options when it came to my stories (plus, I also don't want to have it take down for inappropriate content and rating). I'm contemplating on whether I should turn this into a mini series, where it tells about some of the more . . . intimate . . . moments between Ben and his ghouls when we aren't tuning in on the chapters. These will in no way actually affect the story, but it's just something that happens. I might even decide to take this a step further and pair alternate versions of Ben with other ghouls that aren't even in his harem in the main timeline (not that that will have actually ever happened).

As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!