Kai
"How did I end up in London?" Ben asked in confusion as he looked around, seeing the familiar sights of the English city. "And what happened to Rook?"
"He's in hot water with Rayona, remember?" Kai addressed him, as confused at Ben's behavior as Ben was with her sudden presence. "You said yourself that he went home to Revonnah for a while to smooth things over."
"Riiiiight," Drawled Ben thoughtfully, trying to piece together what had happened. Last thing he remembered was fighting some new villain shattering the space-time continuum, or something, and now here he was in London. "Guess it's time to remember my mantra," He muttered. "Have time trouble, wait for Paradox."
"What was that about a paradox?" Kai asked, starting to get concerned at Ben's sudden odd behavior. "Ben, you're acting weird, more so than usual at that."
"Never mind." Ben brushed her off, trying to piece together his situation as best he could. Not being able to immediately figure anything out, he decided for a point-blank approach. "What are we here for, again?"
Regarding Ben with an odd an concerned look for a few moments, Kai pulled out a well worn map, unfolding it and shoving it right in Ben's face. "I've spent the last six weeks studying London's waterways looking for where Excalibur could have gone. You said you'd help me find it, remember?" She explained, somewhat irritated at having to explain herself again.
"Not really." Shrugged Ben, getting a stern glare from Kai in response. Realizing he needed to pacify her, or he might get a knock on the noggin, he elaborated. "I've had a really weird day today, and it involves some things that only a veteran hero could really hope to understand. You understand, right? ...Or, maybe you don't understand."
"Oh really?" Kai asked dangerously as she quirked an eyebrow. "You don't think I'm a hero in my own right? Well apparently you and Excalibur seem to differ in that opinion, since I could dislodge it from the stone, while you couldn't."
"Hang on a second!" Ben began in astonishment. "You pulled the sword from the stone?! When did that happen?!"
"Are you feeling okay?" Kai asked, getting genuinely worried. "Because I explained all this an hour ago. You know, when you first arrived here."
"There's some mumbo-jumbo going on with the space-time continuum." Ben summarized. "Don't think too much about it, you'll save yourself a big headache."
Quirking an eyebrow at the very brief explanation, Kai soon shrugged in acceptance. "Whatever, if you think you're too good to explain what's obviously a big, top-secret, superhero story, that's fine with me. Can we just get going and find Excalibur already?"
"You don't believe me, do you?" Ben asked accusingly, folding his arms in a huff.
"What's there to believe?" Kai remarked accusingly, folding her arms as well. "You're not exactly being forthcoming about whatever it is you're talking about."
"Because it requires a lot of experience with time-travel and... other time sciences to understand!" Ben defended himself, lamely hesitating near the end.
"Oh, so exactly what kind of experience do you have with time-travel that makes you qualified to understand it?" Kai snarked smugly.
"More than you have." Ben half mumbled, half protested, his defense running out of steam.
"Ooh, good comeback," Kai grinned, her victory in this juvenile contest now assured. "What's next, is the space-time continuum shattered into pieces?"
Ben was about to make a lame retort, before his expression became thoughtful. "Actually, the guy Rook and I were fighting did say something about shattering the space-time continuum, whatever that means."
"That doesn't sound good." Kai remarked nervously. "He didn't do it, did he? I mean, I think the whole universe would notice if he did."
"I think he might have, actually." Ben admitted bluntly, causing Kai's jaw to drop in shock. "But don't worry, I have a system for times like these." He said confidently.
"And that would be?" Kai asked impatiently, more than willing to put her search for Excalibur on hold if it meant saving the universe.
"Wait for Professor Paradox to show up, then just follow his lead." Ben shrugged nonchalantly, leaving Kai slack-jawed before walking off. "Now come on, weren't we going to find Excalibur, or something?"
"Sooo, you're just gonna wait for someone else to fix this?" Kai asked skeptically as she followed Ben, once again silently questioning Ben's hero credentials.
"More or less," Shrugged Ben. "Part of being a hero is knowing when you're out of your depth, and knowing when and where to ask for help. Why do you think I always work with a team?"
"I guess that makes sense." Kai admitted, internally retracting her earlier doubts about Ben's skills. She followed behind Ben for half a minute until she realized something. "Wait a second, I'm the one with the map outlining the possible areas where Excalibur could have drifted. So what do you think you're doing leading the way?" She protested.
"Oh," Realized Ben sheepishly, stopping instantly when he realized she was right. "Sooo, where are we going again?" He chuckled nervously as he gestured for Kai to lead the way.
Rolling her eyes in playful exasperation, Kai walked forward, stopping to scratch Ben's head as she did. "Not very smart are you?" She asked, causing Ben to pout. "You're just lucky you're so cute." She added, causing Ben to smile. "When you're Benwolf, that is." She tagged on, bringing back the pout.
"I told you before, it's Blitzwolfer now." Ben protested sulkily, though Kai only chuckled at his discomfort. "Can we just go now?"
"Sure, I've had my fun for now." Kai relented as she unfolded her map, which showed a complete layout of London's countless waterways, with three small areas circled in red ink. "Now then, after thorough examination of the channels, water flow, tides, and several Q&As with local fishermen and ferrymen, I've determined these three spots to be the most likely places where Excalibur drifted. Your job is to investigate these two areas, while I investigate this third one. Any questions?"
"Yeah, why do I have to search two areas, while you only need to search one?" Protested Ben. "I mean, we're doing this for you, right? So why should I have to do most of the legwork?"
"Because, unlike you, I can't turn into one of the fastest, most dangerous aquatic carnivores in the entire galaxy." Kai snarked, referring to Ripjaws. Pouting, she continued in a semi-cutesy voice. "Besides, what kind of hero would you be if you didn't help a beautiful damsel in distress with a dangerous quest?"
"Okay, one, never talk like that again. Ever." Ben scolded with comical seriousness. "Two, how is this a dangerous quest? We're just searching London's waterways. And three, you've got to be kidding if you think you can pass yourself off as a damsel in distress while you're clearly geared-up for adventure. Seriously, you said yourself that Excalibur chose you, remember?" He retorted teasingly.
"Fine, trample over six weeks of hard work so you don't have to help a girl who you're totally attracted to track down a long-lost artifact of incredible power." Kai huffed, slightly irritable at how difficult Ben was being.
"I never said I wouldn't help you." Ben huffed, pouting slightly in guilt. "But what do I get out of this?"
"You're a hero," Deadpanned Kai. "Aren't you supposed to do this kind of thing voluntarily?"
"You're thinking about the Ben before he became an official Plumber." Ben remarked as he flashed his Plumber Badge. "Don't get me wrong, I still love the hero thing, but I gotta pay the bills somehow."
"You're 16," Kai snarked. "You don't have any bills to pay, except for your obvious tab at Mr. Smoothies." Suddenly, a sly idea worked it's way into Kai's mind as her expression and tone became flirtatious. "Although, if you really want some kind of reward for helping me find Excalibur, maybe we could discuss that over dinner?"
"Homana-What-Now?!" Ben sputtered in nervous shock. "What was that about the who now?"
"Dinner?" Kai repeated seductively as she stepped deep into Ben's personal space, her chest pressing up against him, her fingers trailing up and down his arm. "Maybe some dancing? Sound good to you?"
"Um, well, I... that is the good?" Ben muttered dumbly, Kai shoving a waterproof copy of the map into his hands.
"Easy there, big dog." Kai teased as she led Ben over to a nearby bridge. "Find Excalibur first, then we have a night out on the town." With that said, she pushed Ben off the bridge, where he landed in the water with a loud splash.
Spitting water out of his mouth as he surfaced, Ben turned up to Kai with a glare, the girl only smirking in response. "Fine! We'll find Excalibur! But you'd better not throw me off of any more bridges!" Activating the Omnitrix, Ben bitterly scrolled through the playlist.
"Great, it's a date!" Kai mock-saluted Ben before running off, looking for a location closer to her search spot to jump in.
"It's not a date," Ben muttered, transforming into Ripjaws as he did so. "It's just a guy and a girl, going out for dinner and dancing. Nothing romantic about it." He growled in his guttural voice before diving into the dank river. "It's so dark down here." Ripjaws gurgled in protest, the antenna on his forehead lighting up to moment he did so. "Huh, didn't know I could do that." He remarked in surprise before his expression became thoughtful. "...Come to think of it, I didn't know I could talk underwater either. Weird, you'd think I'd notice that after all these years." Shrugging, he pulled out the map Kai had given him and held it up to his angler. "Looks like the first location should be that way." Turning to the left, he swam off as quick as a bullet.
Later
"Can I just start us off by saying that London's waterways are filthy?" Ben scowled as he and Kai dried themselves off, both of them having reunited near Big Ben. "Seriously, has no one is this country ever heard of recycling? Those rivers are seriously polluted."
"Right now I'm more worried about the fact that we didn't find anything." Kai sighed despondently. "I swear, I calculated everything, accounted for every variable. What could have gone wrong?" Sighing as she dropped to a kneeling position, she continued. "I guess Excalibur is just lost to the world forever."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Ben smirked as he activated the Omnitrix, scrolling through the selections.
"What are you getting at, Ben?" Kai asked, a thin layer of hope lining her tone.
Locking in his choice and slamming the faceplate, Ben turned into Bloxx, and without another word, extended his arms into the river. When he finally grabbed what he was reaching for, he retracted his arms with a heaving grunt, accidentally pulling too hard, and losing whatever he hauled up on the back swing. Hearing a crash and a shout off in the distance, Ben grimaced in embarrassment. "Oops, guess I put a little too much oomph into hauling that up." With that, the duo walked off, quickly tracking down where the crash had come from, only to find...
"Pakmar?!" Ben startled, noticing him weeping next to a pile of scrap metal under a big rock. "What are you doing in London?!"
Recognizing Ben's voice, even as an alien, Pakmar angrily turned to glare at him. "Trying to get away from you, Ben Tennyson! Pakmar come to new country, in hopes to start up his new hot dog stand business, in hopes that finally Ben Tennyson will stop destroying his continually replaced places of business! But it seems that even being so far away from that accursed Bellwood will not save Pakmar from the walking disaster that is Ben Tennyson!" Panting in outrage, Pakmar grabbed a piece of scrap from his hot dog cart and rushed at Ben with a loud battlecry, trying and miserably failing to beat the shapeshifting superhero into submission.
"Does this happen a lot?" Kai asked in confusion.
"Not really," Shrugged Ben nonchalantly, calming walking over to the boulder. "He usually just sticks to yelling at me." Picking up the boulder, the hot dog cart fell into even more pieces as he did so, causing Pakmar to moan in resentment. "Oops, sorry about that." Bloxx apologized halfheartedly, hoisting the boulder over his head as he did so. "We should probably get going." He whispered to Kai, who only nodded in response, pausing for only a moment to give Pakmar an uncomfortable glance before following Ben.
"So, I gotta ask. What's with the rock?" Kai questioned awkwardly once they could no longer hear the diminutive alien's moaning.
"It's not just a rock," Smirked Ben as he planted the boulder on the ground. "See anything familiar about it?" He asked as he tapped the top of the stone for emphasis, a narrow slit causing Kai's eyes to widen in surprise for a moment, before she quickly gathered herself.
"So you found the stone part of the sword in the stone." Kai deadpanned. "Big deal, I had to track that thing down myself just to start figuring out where to search for the sword. How does this help us?"
"Like this." Ben remarked slyly as he slapped the Omnitrix dial, turning into-"Blitzwolfer?! Seriously Omnitrix?! I was going for Wildmutt." He pouted bitterly, only cheering up once Kai started scratching him behind the ears.
"Aww, it's okay cutie!" Gushed Kai, happy to see her favorite alien again. "I like this form sooo much better than mangy ole' Wildmutt! Yes I do! Yes I dooooo!"
"Come on Kai, you're embarrassing me!" Ben protested, though his tone and wagging tail showed that he was clearly enjoying himself. "I'm not an animal, I'm the greatest hero in the universe."
"But you're always gonna be my little Benwolf!" Kai cooed as Ben rolled over so she could scratch his belly. "Yes you are! Yes you are!"
"You're not gonna ask me to give momma some sugar, are you?" Ben asked, half uncomfortable, half extremely comfortable.
"Only if you stay on your best behavior." Kai scolded him with a playful tap on the nose. "So why did you turn into Benwolf all of a sudden? Not that I'm complaining."
"So I could follow my nose, of course." Ben remarked as if it was obvious, before turning to sniff the stone. "And I told you before, it's Blitzwolfer now, not Benwolf."
"Let's compromise then," Kai began. "From now on, we'll both call you Benowulf, after Beowulf, one of the wielders of Excalibur."
"How about 'no'?" Snarked Ben before his stood bolt upright at attention. "I've got the scent! Hold on tight!"
"On tight to-whaaa!" Kai questioned, before Ben hauled her up onto his back, rushing off to follow the trail. "You could have given me a little warning, you know!"
"What part of 'hold on tight' is so hard to understand?" Ben remarked teasingly, keeping his eyes and nose forward at all times.
"The part where you nearly give me whiplash, you big jerk!" Kai shouted as Ben jumped and swerved through traffic.
"Keep your shorts on, we're getting close to the sword! I can feel it in my nose." Ben chided her as he scaled a building, where he proceeded to jump from one rooftop to the next.
"You do know I'm pretty good at parkour, right?!" Kai shouted over the rush of the wind.
"I know, but my way is faster!" Smirked Ben as he jumped down from the rooftops, landing on a path next to a small river, startling pedestrians as he ran with the flow of the water.
"At least tell me when we're close to the sword, you idiot!" Kai shouted, not noticing that Ben had stopped halfway through her sentence for several seconds. "Oh, I take it we're here then?" She quietly muttered, trying to ignore the smug grin on Ben's muzzle.
"You can get off my back now." Ben quipped, prompting Kai to sullenly dismount. Pointing at a nearby spot in the river, Ben added. "The trail ends right there. That's where we should find Excalibur."
"What makes you so sure?" Kai asked skeptically, ignoring the crowd they were starting to gather. "Both the sword and the stone were submerged for weeks, their scent's probably dissipated all over the river by now."
"Oh, so I guess you're not interested in getting the most famous weapon in the history of the entire planet then?" Ben said slyly. "I guess that means it's all mine then."
"Over my dead body!" Kai protested, immediately diving into the murky water.
"Sucker." Smirked Ben triumphantly. There was no way he was going back into the water after just drying off, let alone when he had dog fur, infamous for it's unpleasant odor.
Surfacing with a powerful gasp for air, Kai noticed the smug look Ben was giving her, and simply glared in response. "Laugh it up hero boy, but just look at what I've got." Kai grinned from ear to ear as she held Excalibur aloft, though if anything, this only made Ben's grin even bigger.
"C'mon Kai," Ben said as he pulled her up and out of the water. "Let's get you dried off for our date."
"It's not a date," Kai denied sourly. "It's just a guy and a girl, going out for dinner and dancing. Nothing romantic about it." Unaware she was parroting an earlier comment from Ben, she was slightly confused by how loudly he started laughing.
Conclusion
Later, at a local pizzeria, Ben and Kai were enjoying a large, half meat-lover, half vegetarian pizza. Oddly enough, everyone at the restaurant was keeping their distance.
"Why is everyone sitting so far away from us?" Ben asked, stuffing a large bite of meat-lover pizza into his maw. "We're not that intimidating a couple, are we?"
"I think it might have a bit more to do with the fact that you smell like a wet dog." Kai smirked before taking a more modest bite of vegetarian.
"Takes one to know one," Retorted Ben playfully. "And you're one to talk! You smell worse than I do, and you're carrying around a medieval sword! That's gonna draw some stares."
"Say the guy who's currently transformed into an alien werewolf." Kai batted her eyelashes flirtatiously at her new 'less-than-a-boyfriend, more-than-a-friend'.
"You're the one who wouldn't agree to pay for dinner if I didn't stay transformed," Blitzwolfer pouted, earning him another scratch behind the ears from Kai. "How long do I have to stay like this, anyway?"
"Until I'm satisfied." Kai said simply, punctuating her statement by eating more pizza.
Ben, unwilling to let things rest like that, decided to do something that would cement him in deep water for quite a while. Before she knew what was happening, Ben leaned forward and captured her lips with his muzzle. While Kai was initially caught off-guard by the sudden display of affection, she quickly returned the sentiment twofold, kissing Ben long and deeply, managing to catch him off-guard this time, and forcing him to fight back so as not to lose face. This back-and-forth tongue war lasted until they needed to come up for air, both of them panting for air.
Once Kai managed to catch her breath, she was quick to get the final word in. "You look so cute panting for air," She said breathlessly. "Next time though, let's do it as humans, okay? You have serious dog breath."
"Agreed." Ben panted, slapping the Omnitrix dial to change back. "So, can we have the next time right now?" He flirted.
"In a minute," Gasped Kai. "I gotta wash out my mouth."
As Kai began draining her soda, Ben folded his arms behind his head in triumph. While Excalibur may have chosen Kai, Ben felt like he was the real winner tonight.