Ch 2

***Somewhere in Las Vegas***

Ben is taking a rest after he ran away from Zatanna near the city billboard. He looked at it for a second and ignored. He does not know why but this sin city is full of weird and crazy women. He could not believe, he met two super wired female in only one day. Is this a cost for selling Kevin to Gwen or god has a plan for him?

"What the hell is wrong with this city?" He yelled "I came here just one day and my identity got exposed. Who the hell is she? How could she do that?"

Right now, there are so many questions in his head. He thought and tried to figure it out but it was useless. No matter how much he thought, it will end up with the mysterious. When he was thinking, people looked at Ben and thought he was lunatic.

"Are you okay, young man?" A woman lovely voice came from his right side

Ben looked and stunned in what he saw. He saw another green skin woman but she was totally different from the previous one. She has a bright orange and long hair. She is wearing cute gardening clothes.

"AAAAAAH, yea, I am fine" He replied "Thank for your concern."

She giggled and said "Why do you looking at me like this?"

"Like what?" He startled

"You saw me like I was a ghost or some scary monster" She explained "Did I just scare you?"

"No" He exclaimed "There is no way a beautiful woman like you will be a ghost or monster. I am guaranteed."

She blushed and said "Is this how you say to a woman who you just met? You must be a playboy."

He startled and excused "I am not. I just…"

She giggled and said "I was teasing you, Mr…"

"Nep" He replied "Mr. Neb"

"Good to see you, Mr. Neb" She said "I am Pamela L. Isley. I am the owner of that flower shop."

"Good to see you too, Miss Isley" He replied

"Please, call me Pamela" She suggested "I saw you talking with yourselves from my shop and I thought you had a trouble. Do you want a help?"

"No, I am fine" He replied "You see today is my first day in this city and I met a crazy people. I…"

She stopped him and suggested "Please, you can tell me after we get inside of my lovely shop. This way, sir."

While he is following her, he thinks she is a wonderful girl he met since he came here. She is so generous and kindness. The best part of her is her odor. She smells so nice and sweet like she is a flower, he thought.

Before they get inside, Ben saw the name of her shop. It wrote "Giardino Del Cadavere Maschile." He wondered and asked her the meaning of it but she said her best friend was the one who named it. He decided not to ask further.

When he got inside, he saw a shop which full of many kind of flower. It like he is in the utopia. He feel refresh after he took a deep breath. The air in the shop is full with clean oxygen. It makes him exhaled one big time.

She told him to take a seat while she will bring cookies and teas back. After he sat, he looked around her shop. He is amazing in her management skill. He believes it must be so hard to look after a whole bunch of flowers by her alone.

While he is sniffing flowers, Pamela comes back with snack and teas. She placed on the table and sat opposite from him. She encouraged him to take a bite which Ben accepted without argument. When he bites it, the favor of cookie is leaking from it, spreading in his mouth and running up to his brain.

It's rich of fresh and dried herb. It is not too sweet. It is a perfect cookie, he thinks. His hand starts moving on its own to put the rest of cookies into his mouth. Pamela was watching him while he busy with cookies in the plate. She has a smiley face on her.

"(These are the best cookies I ever had)" He exclaimed with fully mouth "(Can I have some more?)"

She giggled and said "Please, help yourself. I have more if you want."

Ben nodded his head repeatedly as she walked away to bring it more. Ben takes a sip of tea to clear his throat. Despite the fact that he just ate a buffet, he somehow hunger more than he was.

"I need to stop eating this" He thought "But it's so delicious."

Finally, Ben managed to stop eating it when she came back with another plate. They remain in the silent for a few minute as she's waiting for him to be ready to tell his story to her.

"You are so kind to me, Pamela even though we just met each other" He said "I do not know how to repay your kindness."

"Please, Mr. Neb, you are faltering me" She replied "I just did what I should do. I know you are not people around here when I saw you."

"How did you know that?" He wondered

She giggled and said "I am opened this flower shop for 2 years already. I believe I met everyone who living around here without missing a single of them. Therefore, you must definitely be the new face around here."

"I see" He exclaimed

"If you do not mind, you can tell me your story." She suggested

Ben starts telling his story since he's arrived to this city. Ben found she is a good listener. She did not ask any question but listened and comforted him with kind and warm words. After he done his story, she smiled and padded his shoulder softly.

"It is okay, Neb" She replied "I do not think those women are bad. They just approached or met you with coincidence."

"Coincidence?" He wondered

"Yes" She answered and smiled "If you live here like me and people around here, you will not surprise in these stuffs anymore."

"You mean there are more of these!" He yelled

She laughed and said "Let's change the topic, shall we? I do not want to make you stressed again."

"Oh, okay but can I have more of these cookies?" He begged "It is so delicious. How can you make it sweet and smooth like this? Can you share your recipe?"

She giggled and said "Look around yourself. These are my secret recipe. Everything I used is the organic resource. I grew everything at here. No chemical but 100% natural."

"Wow, that's amazing" He exclaimed "I could not believe you can grow organic in the city."

She stood up and left to her kitchen again while he was talking

She said "You can but you need to have a right fertilize, soil and preparation. Anyway, Neb, do you come here alone or with your friends. I am just curious."

Ben did not tell her anything about Kevin or Rook. He also skipped some detail when he met Zatanna. He is thinking how he should say.

"I am so sorry" She said "You do not need to tell me if you do not want to."

"N…No" He replied "Actually, I came here alone."

Her eyes opened widely as she excited to hear him. She smirked and did something with cookies. She came back with her cookies but this time it was looked different from the early one. It is pain cookies without peanut or macadamia.

"Here you are." She placed it on the table "These are the best cookies I have. You are going to like it."

Ben grabbed one of it and sniffed. He smells nothing but just cookies. He did not found any special things about it but since she said it is her best one. He ate it without hesitation. He ate it again and again without stop until plate was empty.

"I am so full" He exclaimed and hit his tummy "You are so kindness. You treat me so well."

She giggled and said "It was just a cookie. Let's get back to our conversation. Since you came here alone, I am wondering what you are doing here."

"Just give myself a reward and relax." He said "I deserved some good relaxation after I worked so hard for a while."

"Ah, I see" She exclaimed "You made a right decision to come here. There are plenty of places I recommended you to pay a visit."

They talked for half an hour. At that time, Ben felt his heart is fulfilled with love. He thought she is a great woman he ever met. She is so kind, good listener and knowledgeable. They shared laughing and joy.

"Wow, I think I fall in love with this woman" He thought "My heart is beaten faster and faster. My temperature is over the scale. I…"

Suddenly, Ben sees her blurred and everything around him is spinning. He does not loss his consciousness but just dizzy. He slapped his face to regain his conscious. It did not enough so he hit again and again until she stopped him

"Why did you hit yourselves?" She asked "Are you okay?"

"I…" He stunned as he smelt her breath "Your smell is so sweet and nice. If you are my girlfriend, I will kiss you now."

"What the hell did I just say?" He thought

Instead of angry, she giggled and delivered a deep and passion kiss to him. He surprised at first but he started enjoying her kissing skill. Her soft and sweet tongue is rubbing and twisting with his tongue. Her lip is touching him again and again.

Before he can embrace her with lust and passion, she broke up and stepped back from him. He is wondering in her action while his breath fast and loud.

She looked seductively at him and asked "Do you like that?"

"Of course" He replied immediately "I…"

"Sheeesssh" She stopped him with her tiny fingers "Then, be a good boy and sleep."

"Sleep…but I…BAAAAAM" Ben fell down before he could finished his sentence.

Pamela walks close to him and rub his head softly. Ben did not loss his conscious yet but somehow his body just gave up without a reason. He looks at her and stun in what behind her. Flowers in her shop are mutating into some kind of plant monsters, some have sharp teeth and some can walk like a human.

"W…who are you?" He said quietly

She did not answer his question. She just plays with her plants like they are her pets. That was the last thing he seen before he lost his conscious.

***After that***

His eyes still close but he feel someone… no something are touching and binding his whole body, like vines. He tried to move his body but he was struggled.

"WTF?" He thought and finally opened his eyes.

He sees a room that filled with moving plants and flowers but what really calling his attention are men in this room. All of them are tied up with vines and plants. Their faces look so paled. When he looked at them closer, those vines and plants were not tie them. It rooted them like they were a soil.

"Holy shit!" Ben exclaimed "Where the hell are we? What is going on here?"

Unfortunately, no one can tell or answer him. Ben tries to recall the last thing before he came here. Finally, he realized something back there was wrong. He was drugged by Pamela but why? Who is she?

"I am not waiting here for sure. I need to get out of here." He exclaimed and started struggling "Urkkkk"

When Ben tried to struggle, vines would squeeze him hard and harder. Not only vine but thorns on those vines were also cutting him deep and deeper. It finally stopped. It just like that was a warning. If he kept doing that, the result would be the ugly and hurt one.

"Calm down Ben" He thought "Let use the Omnitrix."

He starts moving his left hand slowly because he does not want to stimulate these plants again. It is successful. Vines on his left hand are loose. Finally, his hand is freed from those vines. He just needed to use it and he would out of the here.

"Ah ah ah." Pamela voice came from exist "Be a good boy and stay still."

Ben was going to use the Omnitrix but fate was too cruel for him. Many vines showed up from behind him and pulled his left hand back. This time, it ties him harder, too hard to move. Now, Ben cannot move a little bit even his head.

"You finally woke up. Mr. Neb" She said with smiley face "Are you okay?"

"Pamela!" He exclaimed "What is the meaning of this? Where are we? What is this place? "

She got closer to Ben, touched his chest and said "Do not be scared, my dear. I will not hurt you if you obey and listen to me. Oh my you are injured, let me bandage you."

"Are you a kidnapper?" He ask her after he remembered something

"Hmmm… What make you think that I am a kidnapper?" She asked back

"That man" He pointed at the opposite man "I remembered him from the missing I saw on the street. So this is where they were.."

"Oh my, you are such a clever man" She praised him "Yes, I kidnapped them but I did not do this for money"

"Then, for…" He silenced

Ben was going to say something to her but something happened in front of him. Huge roots crawled from the ceiling and headed down to those men. Ben is stunned in what he just sees. He saw it pumped something into those human through their mouths.

The next moment, Ben witnesses another amazing thing. Those men look alive again. Their skins get pink and smooth. Then, those vines and flowers start sucking them slow and steady. It just likes a cycle life of plants.

"What the hell was that?" He said to Pamela who just finished bandage him. "What do you want from me? Are you going to do that to me too?"

She said while rubbing his chest "No, my dear. Those are my fertilizer for my soils. Every gardener and plant lovers know that you must keep your soil healthy or it will rule your plants. Do not be scared .You are my special one."

"Fertilizers? Soils?" He yelled "They are not soils. They are human just like you and me."

Suddenly, she stopped her hands and took steps back from him. She walked to another man who near Ben. She did not play with him but flowers instead. It was red blood flowers. She gets closer and smells it for few second.

She sighed and said "You asked me how I made these flowers beautiful. Here is an answer. After I spent many years and devoted my life for phytology. I finally found the best way to make plants glow faster and bigger. It was humans especially men. I…"

"Shut up!" He yells after he imagined what she just said. "I do not want to hear anything from you anymore. You freak!"

She is startled after she heard him. She turns back and stands in front of Ben. This time, her eyes are filled with anger and furious. Ben thinks, he just hit her weak spot. She slapped him again and again. The room is full with slapping voice. She keeps saying "FREAK! FREAK! FREAK!" every time she hit him.

Finally, she stopped. Ben's face is so red like a tomato. Her hands prints are appeared on his face. His blood is leaked from the corner of his mouth. Ben does not scare her for a little.

"You should not say that to the woman" She said coldly "Now, I have to play the hard way with you, Ben."

"!" He stun after she called his real name

"Oh my, did you really think that stupid fake name really worked?" She mocked "It was a stupid fake name I ever heard. I tried so hard not to laugh. You should kill the person who named to you."

"KEVIN!" He exclaimed in his head

"Yes, I know who you are and what you have." She continued conversation and rubbed Ben's Omnitrix "Why don't you turn to Wildvine? It will make everything easy to me."

"How did you know me?" He wondered "I believed I haven't seen you before"

"You do not have to know that" She replied and took her cloth off.

Ben see her in the green one-piece cloth that made from leafs and vines. To be more accurate, this green cloth is her skin. She was a living plant in human form, he thought. He finally understood why she was so cared these plants.

"I have a dream, Ben." She continued "Think about the world that full with beautiful flowers and plants. The green and peace Eden where mother of nature happy. No more fight. No hungry and no more…"

"HUMAN" He guessed

She looked at him and smiled horribly "Yes, no more human and I need you and Wildvine to help me make it happened. I will be the queen of the green world and you will be on my side forever. Think about it."

Ben silenced for a second before he say "In your dream, you lunatic plants woman. You…"

She grabbed his mouth and said "I knew you would say that. Therefore, I am going to use the hard and strong way with you."

"Huh, save your strength." He yelled "I have seen many kind of torture before. None of them could make me submitted. I am not afraid of you."

She looked him doubtfully and said "Who said I am going to torture you?"

"Then, what are you… what the hell is that?" He noticed something in her hand

"Do you know what did I do to these men?" She said and looked at the thing in her hand

He laughed and said "I do not know what you freak did them. May be you sang a song and made them submitted."

"Such a big mouth" She exclaimed coldly "This is one of my master piece, the mind control seed. It has ability as it named. After you ate it, it will explode your mind and sense. You will loss all of your sense and thinking. Finally, you will be my slave and listen to me only."

Ben was going to say something back but she grabbed his mouth and put a seed into his mouth. She managed to make him swallowed it. He tried to split it out but it was too late. It starts affecting his body already. He sees room spinning like it is a roller-coaster but he still has conscious

"I… never…never…surrender…to you…BITCHES." He said quietly

She laughed and said "Do not worry, my dear. I just used a minimum dose. You will eat it every day from now on until you given up. I bet ummmm 3 days is the maximum. See you later my dear. I have a shop to run."

She laughed before she leaves the room. Ben is finally alone but his situation is so hopeless. No one knows he is here. He cannot use the Omnitrix. His strength is also running out.

"So this is it!" He lamented desperately "This is my ending. The great hero, Ben 10 will become a slave to lunatic plant woman. What a joke!"

He close his eyes and think about his past such as he fought Vilgax to save universe, time travel and etc. He smiled and thought he had no regret if he ended here. Suddenly, he thinks about something that he does not done yet. It became a strength and motivation for him to fight again.

"No, I am not giving up. YARRKKKKKKK" He exclaimed and tried to pull his arms again.

His arms are getting cut from these thorns and start bleeding but he endures it. No one knows his motivation except himself. Finally, his arms are freed from those binding but it is covered by his blood. He activated the Omnitrix and found the aliens that perfect for this case.

"I choose you" He slammed the Omnitrix and the green light covered him for few seconds

In the green light, his body and DNA are changing. His whole body grew bigger and stronger. His temperature is getting up more and more. Those plants around him are burned by flame. Finally, Ben became Heatblast.

"Pamela, you do not know, you just made a huge mistake" He said angrily "Right now, I want to fire upppppppppp."

***Up stare***

Pamela is doing her daily routine such as water her plants. She is in the good mood because she thinks she captures Ben and her huge plan will be as she thought.

"Here for my cute one" She said with her flower

Then, she noticed something was wrong. She feels the temperature in the shop is getting high and higher. She checked the thermometer and saw it increase rapidly. Her flowers are shriveling and dying. Then, each of them starts falling down one by one. She kneeled on the floor and tried to help them even though it was too late already.

"NO!" She screamed "My flowers! My dear flowers! Who did this?

"BOOOOOOOOMMMMM" the basement door was exploded and Heatblast walked through it

She is stunned to see Ben in Heatblast form but what make her shocked is thing in his hand. It was a grilled plants and flowers. Ben skewered it with a branch he found in the basement. He smelt it before he eats it like a BBQ.

"UMMM, this is delicious." He said and chewed it "I really like fresh grilled salad. Pamela, do you want some?"

"SNAP!" Something in her head just snapped. She is possessed with anger and hated. She forgets everything about her plan. The only one she wants to do now is kill Ben.

She screamed loudly and said "KILL HIM!"

Without any warning, vines and plants around there approach Heatblast without any mercy. He threw stick away and ignited flame in his hands. He throws it like he used to be. It is too horrible picture for plant lover like Pamela. She kneeled on the floor and saw her plants became ashes one by one.

Some vines managed to grab Heatblast but it was useless. He cut and burned it easily. When her plants are getting less and less, she sees him moving up. He is heading to her direction. She tried to attack him with dust poison and anything she had even water but it was not enough.

Before Ben come up, he assumed she knew everything about his aliens. Heatblast might be good against plants but plants and water always come together. Therefore, he decided to accelerate temperature around him. It is hot enough to volatile water before it touched him.

"You are done, Pamela" He say while he stand in front of her "Give up and I will show you a mercy."

"You… you monster" She cried "Why did you kill them? What did they do to you?"

Normally, Ben would show some sympathy but not this time, not this woman. He knew she was too dangerous to trust since she could do such a cruel thing to others.

"I have to call a police" He replied calmly "You have to pass justice process. What you did, it was wrong."

"Justice! Wrong!" She said scarily "Where is justice when human like you burn and cut trees? You humans are just a flea on this earth. Plants are the beginning and the end. Do you hear me? "

"She is out already." He thought

He was going to capture her then he felt floor were shaking. He looked down and saw it cracking and became a hole. He jumped before fall into that hole. That was a close one. He did not know what happened but he does not want to know.

"Hey, Ben!" She yelled

He looked up and saw Pamela's foot. She just kicked his face. She made him fell down into the hole. He tried to grab something but it was nothing there but slipped surface. Finally, he managed to grab something.

"I am so sorry that our relationship did not go so well. So this is a goodbye. See you in…No. Never see you again. I have to go now. Enjoy your meal, my sweet pet." She said from above and left the shop

"What are you talking about?" He yelled from down there "I… OH SHITTTTTT!"

Ben finally understood what she meant. He saw a mutated-Rafflesia with living vines down there. It grabs his legs and pulls him down. He tried to burn it but it was too moisture to ignite flame. It put him in to its huge mouth and swallowed him like a food.

***Outside the shop***

People and officers are surrounding the shop because of flame and explosion. Some take a picture. Some talk about it and try to find a reason. Our criminal used this chance to escape from the scene. She walked through people and Main Street. Now, she is in the narrow street without people.

"Damn you Ben" She exclaimed "You ruled my plan. You…"

Suddenly, she noticed something. There is a human show from above covered her. She knew that shadow belong to whom.

"You are done, Poison Ivy" the shadow said calmly and gently

She turned to fight back but it finished before it begin. "POW" was the last sound in that narrow street.

Back to the shop, police officers are telling people to stay behind while firefighters just come out of the shop with victims except Ben.

"Are there anyone left in the shop?" Police asked firefighter

"No" He replied "That was the last one. You are not going to believe what we just saw."

"Flame on!" Heatblast's voice came from the shop then explosion "BOOOOOOMMMMM!"

He just blasted that plant into ashes but it was too much. The explosion made him fly into the air before he land in front of those officers. Dusts were everywhere and when it's gone, officers saw Ben in human form. They are stunned in what they just saw.

"Ummmm, you are not going to believe what happened to me." Ben chuckled

Without a reason, every officer drew weapons and pointed at Ben "FREEZEEEEEE YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!"

"WHAT!" Ben yelled before he lies down on the street