Hanging Ten

by The Writer with No Name

As summer starts at Surfer's Paradise, a sixth grom joins, making friends with the groms, except for Lo, but as strange creatures start showing up, they begin to wonder: what is Ben Tennyson hiding? Gradual Ben/Lo, some ReefFin. AU Stoked S1, S2-3 B10:AF

6. Rippin' It Up

CHAPTER SIX: RIPPIN' IT UP

The Office, July 15, 2010

As the morning sun started to peek over the horizon, turning the clouds pink over an orange sky, the only sound breaking the tranquil silence was the sound of waves lapping against the beach…

"Wooooohooooo!"

Ben's shout quickly shattered the silence as he raced out into the surf, his board at the ready, with Reef, Broseph, Ripper, and Lance close behind. Popping up, Ben glided into the approaching wave, riding along the edge of the whitecap, before cutting back, zipping back down the wave, and then twisting again, darting into calm waters before it broke. Reef caught the next one, executing an aerial 360 as he cleared the whitecap, flying behind the wave, just as Broseph pulled off a sweet side-grab in midair, before touching down. Ripper and Lance were up after that; racing right up to the whitecap, Ripper all but flew into the air, performing a midair, one-handed handstand before landing perfectly, while Lance opted for a cutback along the crest of the wave, zooming back and forth along the water before darting clear.

As the five of them regrouped in the shallows, Ripper laughed. "Sweet session, mates!" he declared, before nodding to Ben. "I'll admit I was sceptical, but you just might have the blood of the Madcap in you, after all!"

Reef grinned. "Taught him everything he knows!"

Ben rolled his eyes. "Riiiiiiight."

"Dude, I still can't believe he's your grandpa," Lance said. "I mean, seriously, what are the odds?"

Ripper nodded. "I still can't believe he was here and we missed it! Ty was practically kickin' himself, all day yesterday!"

Ben shrugged. "Trust me, man; stranger things have happened."

"Yeah, like getting chased by a creepy little white midget through the woods!" Reef agreed. "I'm telling you, it's out there!"

Ripper snorted. "Sure, mate. We believe you."

Broseph grinned. "So, you make any progress with Lo, bro?"

Ben groaned. "Not this again…"

Ripper arched an eyebrow. "This something we should hear about, mate?"

Broseph shrugged. "Nothing major, bro; just that Ben's warm for Lo, is all."

Gulping, Ben raised his hands. "Look, all I'm saying is that maybe – maybe – I might…kinda like her."

Ripper chuckled. "Oh, is that all?"

Ben's expression went flat. "Whaddya mean "Is that all"?"

"Well, States, we always kinda had a notion," Ripper said. "After all, most blokes don't risk getting canned for just any Sheila."

Lance gulped. "Oh, boy; not sure if Ty's gonna be happy to hear about this…"

Ben paled. "Look, there's nothing to tell, okay?" he exclaimed. "A couple days ago, I thought that maybe she might feel the same, but after yesterday, I'm not so sure."

Broseph arched an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"I don't know; I just came in to pick up an order like normal, and she nearly took my head off!"

Reef snorted. "Chicks are always spazzing out about something, dude; you can't take that at face-value."

Lance nodded. "He's kinda got a point, bro; if you like her, man up and make a move."

Ripper grinned. "Then we can tell Ty."

Ben sighed. "So I can either get killed by Lo, or by her brother. Thanks, guys."

"Anytime, mate."

As the sun started rising higher, Broseph looked worried. "It's gettin' kinda close to punch-in, dudes; should we pack it in?"

"One more wave!" Ripper declared, hopping off his red long-board. "I say we make it a good one! Everybody on!" Following his lead, the five of them crowded onto the board, paddling into the wave, before popping up one-by-one.

As the wave swelled, the five surfers balanced on the board as one, managing to stay afloat, letting the wave push them up to the whitecap, before they leapt off, cannonballing into the ocean, letting the wave rush by overhead.

Popping back up to the surface, Ben grinned. "That was awesome!"

Surfacing a few feet away, his afro automatically puffing back out, Broseph nodded. "Totally worth getting a strike over, dudes!"

"Maybe," Lance agreed, "but I'd rather not get one at all, so we'd better move it!" Quickly grabbing their boards, the five of them ran out of the surf, racing towards the staff-house.

XXXXXXXX

Staff House

"You're wearing your bikini to work?"

As she and Emma followed Fin onto the porch, Lo arched an eyebrow at her friend's choice of outfits; whereas she and Emma were in their usual clothes, Fin had opted for her bikini. "I'm just gonna wear it under my uniform!" Fin defended. "I'm out of clean underwear!"

By then, Johnny, in his uniform, had walked onto the porch. "Isn't there some miracle invention that can fix that?" he joked. "I think it's called a washing-machine!"

Grinning, Fin stuck out her tongue at him. "Yeah, but I hate doing laundry!" she teased back. "I've officially decided: from now on, I'm going to spend the rest of my life in my bikini!"

Emma's eyes went wide. "Eeeww!"

"Seriously, Fin! That's kinda gross!" Lo agreed.

"What? It gets clean in the ocean!"

By then, Reef, Ben, and Broseph had walked up to the porch, still damp from their surf-session. Shaking his head like a dog to dry off, Reef grinned smugly. "Morning, ugly."

Fin frowned. "Ever hear of a towel?"

Ben chuckled. "We're leaning towards the theory that he was raised by huskies." At that, Lo quickly covered her mouth, hiding her giggle.

Smirking, Fin unrolled the surf-mag she'd had in her hand, holding it in front of Reef's face. "Hey Chowderhead, get a load of this! My pal Jessica just took 1st Place in the East Coast Surf Championship, last week! She totally thrashed every single competitor, and she was the only girl who entered! Read it and weep!"

Skimming over the article, Reef rolled his eyes. "Pfft! The East Coast Surf Championship?" he scoffed. "Oh, please! More like Kooks, Anonymous!" He smirked. "Which pretty much makes it the only kind of surf competition a betty could win."

As Fin's expression turned murderous, Ben gulped. "Hey, Reef, I think Bummer's calling you!" he interrupted. "Broseph, don't you hear Bummer calling him?"

"Uh…yeah, bro!" Broseph agreed, catching on. "Dude sounds ticked! Better get moving!" With that, he turned Reef around, and started pushing him towards the hotel.

As Broseph moved Reef clear, Ben took a deep breath, before turning to face Fin's fury. "This probably won't help, but…the opinions of one member of this gender do not reflect those of the gender as a whole."

Miraculously, Fin started to calm down. "Well, at least one of you isn't a brainless pig."

Ben breathed a relieved sigh. "So, what were you all talking about?"

Johnny chuckled. "Fin's spending the rest of her life in her bikini."

Ben blinked. "Seriously?"

"It beats doing laundry."

Ben arched an eyebrow. "You realize that nobody's ever going to get in the same swimming pool as you ever again, right?"

Laughing, Fin gave him a playful shove. "Shut up!" she teased. "So, were the waves any good?"

"Oh, yeah."

"In that case, I think I might try to grab a quick sesh before punch-in!" Fin said. "What time do you have on that watch?"

Ben's hand quickly shot behind his back. "Uh…actually, I kinda need to change the battery on this thing," he answered, "but I think that you just might be able to make one session; it'll be risky, though…"

"Good enough for me!" Fin declared, turning to head back and grab her board. "Hey, we still on for that sesh after first shift?"

Ben paused. "Uh…"

"Great! See you then!" With that, Fin darted inside, and then dashed back out, her board under her arm.

Lo lightly frowned at the exchange.

With just the three of them now, Ben smiled sheepishly. "I…guess we'd better get ready for punch-in, huh?"

Lo's expression mirrored his. "Uh…yeah."

Ben scratched the back of his head. "So…see you then!"

"R-Right!"

As Ben headed into the staff-house, Emma fixed Lo with an incredulous eye. "Okay, what was that?"

Lo blinked. "What?"

"You just had a chance to make nice with Ben after yelling at him, yesterday, and you missed it!" Emma cried. "What's going on?"

"Emma, I never said I liked Ben!" Lo protested, before her tone turned somewhat bitter. "Besides, he's probably hung up on Fin, now; you saw how much time they spent together, yesterday!"

"Yeah, surfing!" Emma said. "You heard what she and Reef said while Mr. Tennyson was here! She and Reef are probably trying to out-teach each other so Ben can get his grandpa to teach one of them the Zero-G!" She started to smile. "Wait…is that why you snapped at him, yesterday?"

Lo sighed. "That, and the fact that Daddy still isn't letting me back in the penthouse, even though he was impressed by Mr. Stevens' review!" she complained. "I mean, what do I have to do, here? Tattoo an ad on my freaking back?"

Unfortunately, Emma had only heard the first part, judging by her squeal. "I knew it! You do like him!"

Lo closed her eyes. "Maybe," she relented. "Maybe I like him, okay?"

Emma squeaked again. "Are you going to ask him out?"

Lo smirked. "News flash, Emma; Lauren Ridgemount does not chase boys!" she declared. "Lauren Ridgemount gets boys to chase her!"

Emma was sceptical. "Okay…"

Lo sighed. "First things first: I need to find some other way to impress Daddy…which I can't do if Bummer fires me! Come on!" With that, she and Emma hurried towards the hotel, before Bummer got angry.

Or before he got angrier than normal, at least.

XXXXXXXX

Surfer's Paradise Hotel

Once he'd stashed his board and donned his uniform, Ben had barely enough time to sprint to the locker room. As he dashed in, he saw that everyone else was already there…including Bummer, his scowl at the ready. "So glad you could join us, Mr. Tennyson!"

Ben grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that, sir."

Mercifully, Bummer didn't press the issue. "I have here your most recent Customer Satisfaction Surveys," he said, holding out a stack of papers. "Not bad, people, but I'm not doing cartwheels!" He held out the top two. "Wipeout, Broseph: 6 out of 10!" His eyes narrowed. "Mind yourselves: drop any lower, and you're looking at a strike!"

Wipeout's fin drooped. "Aw, man…"

Broseph nodded as he took the paper. "Major harshage, bro."

"Mackenzie: 7 out of 10!" Bummer read, handing out the next survey.

Emma managed a faint smile. "Hey, at least I'm getting better!"

Bummer's scowl deepened. "Tennyson: 8 out of 10!"

Ben grinned as he took the form. "Hey, I'll take it!"

"Ridgemount, McCloud: 9 out of 10!"

Lo almost jumped for joy. "YES!"

Fin was equally ecstatic. "Ha!" she declared, shoving her survey in Reef's face. "In your face, kook!"

Glancing at the last survey, Bummer groaned. "This is probably one of the most painful moments of my entire career," he muttered. "Reef…10 out of 10."

Fin paled. "WHAT?"

"YES! In your face, betty!" Reef crowed.

Ben buried his head in his hands. "We can't take him anywhere…"

"Okay, that's enough, slackers!" Bummer barked. "Those of you who did passably well, keep it up! Those that didn't had better fix it, fast!" He turned to go. "Get to work!"

As Bummer headed off, Reef and Fin did the same, arguing all the way. "Dude, those two gotta get a hobby," Broseph murmured.

Emma giggled. "Or just ask each other out!" she exclaimed, before glancing to Lo. "I bet your Dad'll be impressed with that customer review!"

Lo looked thoughtful. "Hmm…I don't know," she said. "If a good hotel-review wasn't enough, I don't think this'll do it either. I'm gonna have to do something to back this up."

"Got anything in mind?" Ben asked.

Lo shrugged prettily, as a smile crossed her shell-pink lips. "I'll let you know." With that, she and Emma headed off.

Seeing him watch Lo leave, Broseph chuckled. "You gonna take Ripper's advice, bro?"

Ben sighed. "I dunno…"

"Look, dude; obviously she doesn't hate you, right?" Broseph asked. "'Cause that did not look like a betty that had it in for you."

"Look, I'll…I'll think about it, okay?"

Broseph shrugged. "If you say so, bro." With that, they headed off.

XXXXXXXX

"You'll do it? Great! See you in an hour!"

After hanging up on her cell-phone, Lo let out a squeal of delight. "Yes! If this doesn't get me back in the penthouse, nothing will!"

"I take it your little plan worked?" Emma asked, as she walked by with a tray on each hand.

Lo was still beaming. "And then some! Daddy has to be thrilled to hear this!"

"Great!" Emma laughed. "Now, would you mind helping me serve our brunch customers?"

Peeking out the kitchen door, Lo spotted only a handful of guests there; nothing major. "Can you give me a few minutes?" she asked. "I want to break the news to Daddy!"

Emma looked a little nervous. "Kelly gets back from her break in five minutes," she said. "You're gonna have to really motor!"

"I will! Thanks!" Lo chirped, before she sprinted out of the side-entrance, racing towards the lobby, reaching the front desk in seconds. "Johnny, I need to find Daddy!"

Johnny's hands were already blurring over the computer. "He and your mom are out on the golf-course; things are kinda slow, so I sent Ben to caddy for them…"

"Great! Thanks!" Lo was already in motion, racing towards the golf-green as fast as she could. In about a minute flat, she reached the course, where her parents – with her father in golf-shorts and a white polo-shirt, exposing his old Army Ranger tattoo on his right arm, and her mother in skintight black capris and a white tank-top – were golfing, while Ben stood by with the clubs.

Seeing her daughter approach, Gloria beamed. "Lo! Guess what?" she exclaimed. "I got a booger!"

As both Ben and Lo forced down a laugh, James chuckled guiltily. "Bogey, honey. It's called a bogey."

Gloria blushed. "Right!" Holding up her club, she gushed, "And look: pink club covers!"

Lo smiled weakly. "Cute, Mom."

James' expression turned stern. "Shouldn't you be at work, Lauren?"

"I know, I know, but you're not gonna be mad!" Lo said, beaming. "Guess who just booked the Vintage Surfboard Tour?"

James' eyes went wide, as his club fell out of his hand. "R-Really?" he exclaimed. "That's one of the most prestigious events in the entire surfing community!"

"I know!" Lo agreed. "I just looked up the tour, asked where they were heading next, and said we'd pay 30 percent more than whatever those guys were!"

James laughed. "Way to show some initiative, honey!"

"Oh, but it gets better!" Lo exclaimed. "Guess who I swiped them from?" She let out a squeal. "Captain Ron!"

"HOT DOG!" James whooped. "A world-class event and we're sticking it to Old Stanhope? I am really proud of you, sweetheart!"

Gloria beamed. "Now, see? Didn't I tell you she could impress you if she had the chance?"

James nodded. "To be honest, sweetie, I was a little worried about taking this afternoon off to train, but not anymore!"

Gloria's smile turned dreamy. "Music to my ears!"

Ben blinked. "Train, sir?"

"For the Annual Highland Games!" James declared. "For the past 10 years, I've taken first in the Farmer's Walk and the Caber Toss, and I'm not about to let my streak break!"

Lo nodded. "Daddy takes the Games way seriously; in the 3-4 months leading up to them, he trains in the events he's competing in, in full traditional wear."

Gloria sighed. "Best months of my life!" she swooned. "Seeing my husband all bare-chested and manly, those muscles sweat-drenched, with nothing but a kilt…" She waved her hand in front of her face, before fixing her husband with a feline gaze. "I hope you're not too worn-out, this evening, James."

Lo felt her stomach churn. 'Oh, God…'

James grinned back at her. "Just as long as you let me get in the door this time, Gloria; I don't think the kitchen table can take another round of us…"

"EEEWW!" Lo shrieked. "God, you two! I have to handle food, in a few minutes!"

Ben looked just as nauseous as she did. "Mr. and Mrs. R, I think you just passed the "Too-Much-Information" line, a few miles back."

Gloria covered her mouth with her hand, suppressing a giggle. "Sorry!"

Picking up his club, James turned to go. "Well, I'll let Andrew know you're handling the tour, Lauren; he'll give you the afternoon to do it!" he said. "Keep up the excellent work!" With that, he and his wife headed to the next hole.

Lo managed to calm herself. "Okay, I so could've done without hearing…that," she said, brightening, "but Daddy's proud of me! I'm so getting back in the penthouse!"

Ben chuckled. "So that's what you were working on?" he asked. "Nice!" His expression turned nervous. "Hey Lo, I was just wondering…"

Glancing at her watch, Lo froze. "Oh, God! Kelly!" she cried. "She's going to kill me!" She gazed forlornly at Ben. "Can this wait?"

Ben smiled sadly. "Sure."

"Thanks!" With that, Lo sprinted off, back to the DR, while a saddened Ben got back to his caddying.

XXXXXXXX

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

As he and Broseph headed out of the lobby, Ben didn't let up on himself. "I had the perfect chance to ask her out – she was right there, all excited about booking this tour – and I choked!"

Broseph looked sympathetic. "Hey, not saying I blame you, bro," he offered. "You said Mr. R had a Ranger tat?" He shuddered. "Man, those guys are scary hardcore; don't think it's Ty you gotta be worried about, bro."

"Not helping, Broseph."

Emerging from the lobby, Ben saw Lo and Emma, both in their usual clothes, standing by a truck that had backed up to the hotel. As the two of them walked over, a young man, around their age, tall, well-built, and tanned, with curly dark hair, clad in light beige slacks and a dark olive, sleeveless t-shirt, emerged from the truck. "Hey, somebody order some vintage surfboards?" he asked. "I'm Kai, by the way."

Lo smiled. "I'm Lo; I'm the one that booked the tour," she answered. "So…who unloads the boards?"

Kai chuckled. "Usually, that's handled by the social director…which I'm guessing is you."

Lo giggled. "Right!" She glanced to the others. "Guys? Want to handle some classic surfboards?"

Emma squealed. "I'm in!"

"Likewise, bra!" Broseph exclaimed.

Kai laughed. "The sign of a true surfer!" he remarked. Glancing to Lo, he added, "So, while they're unloading, you want to hang by the pool?"

Ben felt his heart stop, his blood turning to ice in his veins.

Lo shrugged idly. "Ask me again, later," she answered. "Right now, I have to let the Manager know the boards are here."

"Hey, that's cool," Kai said. "See you later, then."

As Lo headed back into the hotel, while Kai headed towards the pool, Ben shuffled along after Broseph and Emma as they all but scampered into the truck. "Oh my gosh!" Emma exclaimed. "Look at some of these boards! There's the Mark Po Longboard…the Noah Beachie Oak-Board…the Eddie Haiku Board…practically every pro surfer's board from the last 20 years is…"

Her voice trailed off as she spotted the glass-encased board all the way in the back: the board itself was wooden, and carved with totemic images directly into the board.

Broseph's eyes went wide. "It's…it's the Duke Hanale Vintage Balsam Board!" he exclaimed. "This…this board carried one of the greatest surfers of our time, second only to the Madcap himself!"

Emma let out another squeal. "I take back EVERYTHING bad I said about this place! I LOVE this job!"

"Yeah," Ben muttered, his voice empty. "It's great."

Their expressions dumbfounded, Emma and Broseph looked towards him. "Dude…maybe you didn't hear us," Broseph said. "We are handling the boards of some of the greatest surfers ever…"

Spotting his expression, Emma understood. "You think Lo was flirting with Kai, don't you?"

Ben snorted. "Wasn't she?"

Now Broseph understood. "Hey, she didn't say yes to the dude, bro."

Emma nodded. "Broseph's right, Ben," she agreed. "If you want to be with her, then fight for her!"

Those words – echoing of Lance's earlier advice – knocked Ben out of his funk. "You know what?" he asked. "I will!" He turned around. "Just give me a couple minutes; I'll be right back!" With that, he darted off.

'I can do this,' Ben thought as he ran. 'I've faced down Vilgax dozens of times; I've dealt with the Forever Knights, Hex, Ghostfreak, and plenty others; I helped stop an entire invasion of Highbreed; heck when I was 10, I stopped the entire universe from blowing up!'

He gulped. 'All I have to do is ask Lo out,' he finished. 'I just have to ask out the only daughter of an ex-Ranger, multi-millionaire hotel-chain owner…the daughter who, until fairly recently, seemed to hate my guts…'

Shaking his head, Ben forced those thoughts down. 'Okay, that's enough of that,' he corrected. 'It's like Lance said: time to man up.'

Lo was just walking out of the DR when Ben entered the lobby. Seeing him approach, she blinked. "Something wrong?"

"No, no," Ben answered. "I just…wanted to talk about what I'd started to on the golf-course."

"Okay."

Ben took a deep breath. "I was just wondering…look, you probably have other plans…" he began, but he stopped, and started over. "Look, do you…on our break, do you want to go surfing?"

Lo arched an eyebrow. "What, like with Fin, Reef, and the others?"

"No!" Ben said quickly, but softened his tone. "No, no others; just…you and me."

Lo's mouth started to turn up. "Like a date?"

'Oh, boy; here it comes,' Ben thought. "Yeah."

For a very long moment, Lo was silent, before she smiled. "Sure."

Ben's eyebrows shot up past his hairline. "Really?"

Lo giggled. "Did I stutter, or something?" She turned to go. "See you at the beach!"

Ben grinned. "Uh…y-yeah!" he replied. Once Lo was out of sight, he jumped for joy. 'Oh, yeah! Ben 10 has still got it!' Turning back, he headed towards the truck, taking out his cell-phone as he did, dialling in mid-stride. "Hey, Fin? It's Ben. We're gonna have to scratch the surf-lesson, this afternoon; I've got other plans…"

XXXXXXXX

After the truck had arrived, Lo had spent an hour at the staff print-center, doing up e-mail flyers and printing off brochures detailing the Vintage Surfboard Tour…all the while trying not to glance at the clock, every two minutes, telling herself she wasn't counting down to lunch-hour.

Ben had asked her out.

She knew it wasn't that big a deal, but for some reason, when he'd asked her, her heart had suddenly started racing…

"All done, Lo!"

Glancing up, Lo spotted Emma as she walked in. Seeing her expression, Emma's smile grew. "Ben asked you out, didn't he?" she squealed. "I knew it! I knew something was up! He was grinning like a total goofball the whole time we were moving those boards!"

Lo smiled shyly, twirling her hair as she looked away, hoping to hide her blush. "Really, Emma, it's not that big a deal!"

"Not a big deal? Lo, you're glowing!" Emma laughed. Her expression turned worried. "For a minute, though, I think Ben was worried you liked that boy Kai; you weren't really flirting with him, were you?"

Now it was Lo's turn to laugh. "Like I told you before, Emma: Lauren Ridgemount gets boys to chase her!" she declared. "Oh, and that's how you make a boy jealous, by the way."

At first, Emma looked impressed, but quickly turned forlorn. "But…weren't you just using Kai?"

"Please. A little flirting never hurt anyone!" Lo answered. "Besides, he's probably a Type One – Type Two, tops!"

Emma looked at her like she'd grown an extra head. "Huh?"

Lo sighed. "Dateable boys come in three types," she explained. "Type Ones – the One-Date-Wonders – are looking for just that: one date! Some just want to be seen dating you one time if you're pretty, or popular…but most of the time, Type Ones just want to try and get in your bikini."

Emma flinched. "Ick!"

Lo nodded. "That's why I always keep pepper-spray in my purse," she agreed. Her expression lightened. "Then there are Type Twos: the Semi-Hook-Ups. Type Twos are the guys that are genuinely interested in you beyond one or two dates, but the relationship doesn't usually last; it could be because they're moving soon, or because they're focused on sports, or schoolwork, but sooner or later, any relationship you have with them will tank." She frowned. "It could also be because they're Type Ones in disguise."

"Okay," Emma said. "And the third type?"

Lo sighed dreamily. "Type Threes are by far the most elusive," she said. "Three letters say it all: TBM!"

Emma blinked. "TBM?"

"Total. Boyfriend. Material." Lo sighed. "Basically, if you're lucky enough to find a Type Three, you grab him up and don't let go!"

Emma smiled dreamily. "Yeah…"

Lo flinched. "Please tell me you're not thinking about my brother."

Emma's smile turned sheepish. "Um…okay," she answered. "So, what about Ben?" She chuckled. "Type Three?"

"I don't know; it usually takes one date to say for certain," Lo answered, before glancing at the clock. "Speaking of which, I'd better get moving!"

Emma smiled. "Have fun!"

"Thanks!" With that, Lo hurried out of the print-center, heading towards the staff-house.

After donning her bikini and grabbing her board, Lo quickly dashed to the beach, finding Ben already there, in his trunks, board in hand. Seeing her run up, Ben smiled. "Hey."

"Hey," Lo greeted, smiling back. "I…I saw the lobby as I was heading here. You guys did a great job."

Ben's smile grew. "We aim to please."

Lo felt her blush return in full force as she absently ran her hand through her hair. "Sorry I kinda made you guys jump through hoops just to get me back in the penthouse…"

"Hey, if you hadn't, Bummer probably would have," Ben replied, chuckling. "I can't speak for the others – they're your friends, and Broseph would've probably sold a kidney to get near those boards – but I usually do what I can to fill my "I Did Something Nice For A Beautiful Girl" quota. My fragile male ego thanks you."

Now Lo was sure her face was on fire. "Glad I could help," she answered. "So…wanna shred some waves?"

Ben grinned. "Thought you'd never ask." Smiling back, Lo quickly followed Ben out into the surf.

After lining up for several minutes, Ben and Lo paddled into an impressive wave, popping up as it began to crest. Gliding out into the rushing blue, Ben executed a nearly-perfect cutback, looping back in on his own trail before shooting up to the whitecap, launching his board into a 360, before landing behind the wave. Racing up to the whitecap, Lo crouched down on her board, grabbing the tail end as she raced across the wave, and then leapt off, shifting into a side-grab as she flew across the blue, landing back on the whitecap, before pulling back, letting the wave pass by.

As she drifted back towards Ben, Lo smiled. "Not bad," she teased.

"Hey, you weren't half-shabby, yourself," Ben quipped back.

Lo laughed. "Duh! I've only been surfing since I was, like, eight!" she exclaimed, sitting down on her board. Her smile turned a bit wistful. "I may not be as good as Fin, but I can still kick butt!"

"Hey, I wouldn't sell yourself short," Ben said, sitting down on his board across from her. "You're…you're awesome, Lo."

Lo's cheeks flared up, once again. "You kinda got a weird way of showing it."

Ben blinked. "Huh?"

Lo wanted to smack herself for saying that, but her mouth was on autopilot. "I just think that hanging with another girl all day yesterday is a weird way to let a girl know she's awesome, that's all," she heard herself say, trying to keep the hurt out of her voice…and only partially succeeding.

"Wait…is that it?" Ben asked, before he laughed. "Is that why you were so…pissy at me, yesterday?"

Lo huffed. "I was not!" she shouted. "And that isn't funny, Ben!"

Ben just chuckled. "Sorry, Lo, but it kinda is, because you've got it all wrong!"

Lo's eyes narrowed. "Oh, I know I saw you hanging with Fin yesterday, Ben; first it was in the morning, and then at sunset!"

"Well, yeah, that much is true, but I didn't have much say in the matter!" Ben defended. "Yesterday morning, I was just heading for the Office – minding my own business – when Fin suddenly shanghaies me and drags me to the beach for an impromptu surf-lesson! Granted, she's a pretty good teacher, but I would've preferred a warning!"

Lo arched an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

Ben nodded. "Then, at lunch-break, I was going to catch a few waves on my own, but then Reef blindsides me for his own lesson-plan! Apparently, he heard about Fin's little lesson, and wasn't going to stand for it!"

Lo felt her mouth start to twitch upwards. "Okay…why?"

Ben sighed. "The two of them seem to think that teaching me will somehow persuade Grandpa to teach them the Zero-G, despite my statements to the contrary," he lamented. "Oh, but it gets better: that evening, Fin – having heard about Reef's plan – ambushes me again, prompting Reef to schedule another lesson this morning, which made Fin pencil me in again, this afternoon! I mean, what am I? A freakin' tug-of-war?"

Lo couldn't help it – she burst out laughing. "Okay, that story is way too stupid to be a lie!" she gasped out.

"Yeah, well, I didn't find it so funny, yesterday," Ben muttered, meeting her gaze. "As good as those two both are, I would have preferred to spend time with someone else."

Lo felt butterflies start to bounce around in her stomach. "Oh?" she asked, inching closer. "Anybody I know?"

"I think so," Ben answered, inching towards her. "She has this beautiful, long, chestnut hair…"

Lo fought back a blush. "Yeah…"

"…and she has these amazing amethyst eyes, the kind you could get lost in…"

"Yeah…"

Ben grinned as he finished. "…and she has the hardest skull I've ever seen; she practically gave me a concussion on my first day!"

Lo's eyes shot open with alarm, as she saw Ben start to laugh, before laughter bubbled forth from her lips. "Shut UP!" she laughed, grabbing the edge of Ben's board and tipping it up, dunking him into the water. Popping up to the surface, Ben half-glared at her, his hair drooping over his eyes. "Serves you right!" Lo teased. "You should've known better than to talk to a girl like – EEEEK!"

Lo shrieked as Ben ducked back under the water, tipping her board up and dunking her in the drink. Popping back up, her hair slicked back against her skull, Lo glowered at Ben…until they both burst out laughing. As their laughter died away, Ben's expression turned worried. "Lo, that day I got hired, when we bumped into each other," he began, "I didn't…I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Surprised, Lo shook her head. "No, not really; I was just way bitchy after hearing I was exiled from the penthouse." Her expression turned forlorn. "Sorry."

Ben shook his head. "I wouldn't say you were bitchy; just…kinda pissy, at times…a little."

"Even so, I…I kinda heaped a lot of it on you," Lo murmured, chewing her lower lip nervously, "and…and you really didn't deserve it, especially after…you saved me from Kelly."

Just the thought of that moment sent shivers down Lo's spine…which only grew at Ben's words. "Hey, I just don't like seeing anybody get bullied; having two former childhood tormentors kinda destroyed my tolerance for it," he said. "Besides, even though I didn't know it at the time…you were worth saving."

The butterflies in Lo's stomach promptly upped their game, going from simple somersaults to complex tumbling routines. "You…used to get bullied?" she asked, trying to cover up the silence before Ben heard her heart racing up into her throat.

Sighing, Ben nodded. "Yeah, by the two local toughs in Bellwood: Cash and JT," he said. "It took me 5 years to stand up to them."

Lo looked stricken. "No wonder you kept out of Initiation."

"Yeah." Ben shrugged, before smiling. "Luckily, it all worked out."

Lo smiled back. "I'm…really glad it did."

"Likewise."

It was only then that they both noticed how close they'd gotten to each other; their noses were only inches away, with Ben close enough to catch the fragrance of lilacs and vanilla she used in her hair, while Lo was close enough to see that Ben's eyes weren't just green, but a brilliant forest-emerald shade.

Only two days ago, Lo would have insisted that Ben back off…but now, she knew better; fluttering her eyes closed, Lo craned her neck upwards, her lips parting in invitation. His gaze softening, Ben moved to accept her invitation, leaning down towards her…

…and suddenly freezing. "Hey…did you hear something?"

'No, so just clam up and kiss me!' Lo thought…until she heard two voices on the wind. "Is that…Reef and Fin?"

"Sounds like it!" Ben agreed, leaning back and looking around. "I think I see them! They both just went under the water! They might need our help!"

As Ben hopped back onto his board, Lo quickly did the same, following Ben as he paddled towards them. Part of her hoped their friends were okay…but part of her couldn't help but be annoyed. 'Reef, Fin, you both SO owe me big time for this…'

XXXXXXXX

A few minutes earlier

"I bet the waves further out are way gnarlier than the ones in here! You up for it, betty?"

"Bring it, kook!"

After Ben had blown off their surf-lesson, Fin had been left with nothing to do but catch waves…until Reef had shown up, big mouth and all, eventually leading to their latest little contest: a surf-sesh further out at sea, where the big waves rolled in.

Paddling out until Sunset Island was a green shape on the endless blue, Reef and Fin came to a stop in front of a breaking wave – easily a ten-footer. Reef grinned. "Watch and learn, betty!"

"Please. Like you'd actually surf that!" Fin scoffed. "If that wave pins you, you could get stuck underwater for a long time."

"Whatever, betty! I can hold my breath for five whole minutes!"

Fin arched an eyebrow. "Prove it."

"Okay, fine! I will!" Reef challenged. "Bet I can hold my breath longer than you can!"

Fin grinned slyly. "You're so on!" With that, they both hopped off their boards, dipping into the blue, simply floating there in front of each other. For a minute, they simply remained still, neither one backing down. Finally, Reef grabbed the tip of his nose and pulled upwards, trying to make her laugh.

Not to be outdone, Fin puffed out her cheeks, squinted one eye shut, and stuck out her tongue.

For another minute, they floated there, looking like two drowned clowns, both trying not to laugh at the other, until Reef's hand shot out, tickling Fin's abdomen. Laughing out a stream of silver bubbles, Fin shot to the surface, followed by Reef. "Oh yeah! I am the man!"

Flushed, Fin glared at him. "You cheated, you kook!"

"Okay, this is what you guys were doing?"

Startled, Reef and Fin turned to see Ben paddle towards them on his board, followed by an annoyed-looking Lo. "We come all the way out here to try and save your butts, and you two aren't even in trouble?" Lo continued, her hands on her hips.

Fin blinked. "Ben? Lo? What are you two doing here?"

"We should be asking you that!" Ben answered. "Lo and I were just catching a sesh when we heard the two of you! We saw you both go under, so we came to help!"

Lo pouted, crossing her arms. "And the two of you aren't even in trouble!" she muttered.

Ben grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry about that," he offered.

Her eyebrow arched, Fin smiled knowingly. "Oh…so that's why you cancelled our surf-lesson, huh?" she asked. "We didn't interrupt anything, did we?"

Both Ben and Lo flushed red at that, but Reef interrupted. "You were trying to sneak another surf-lesson?" he snapped. "What the hell?"

"Same to you, kook! He's my student!"

"I'm the surf-instructor here, betty!" Reef shot back. "You're just trying to scope the Zero-G, and I'm not letting you get away with it!"

"Like a total poser like you deserves to learn the…"

"QUIET!" Ben shouted. "Enough, already! We are settling this, here and now! Fin, Reef, back under the water; whoever holds their breath longest gets to teach me! You can make funny faces, but that's it! Lo and I will watch to make sure no-one cheats!"

Fin glared at Reef. "Fine by me!"

"Ditto!" With that, the four of them dipped under the water's surface.

Floating next to each other, Ben and Lo watched as Reef and Fin made funny faces at each other.

Reef stretched out his lower lip, exposing his teeth.

Fin crossed her eyes, and curled her tongue into three loops.

Reef made his eyes buggy, pulled on his earlobes, and opened his mouth, flicking his tongue like a frog's.

Fin countered by reaching behind her head, pulling back on her scalp to stretch it along her skull, and sticking out her tongue.

Finally, Ben had seen enough. Waving, he drew Fin and Reef, plus Lo, to look at him…

The very instant they saw the face Ben had made, all three of them burst into silver-lined laughter, darting back up to the surface, coughing and sputtering as they laughed, clinging to their boards, while Ben popped up two seconds later. "No fair!" Fin laughed.

"Hey, I never said you two were the only ones who could make faces!" Ben chortled. "Guess that means I win, so no more shanghaied surf-lessons!"

Lo was still giggling. "Ben! A little warning would've been nice!"

Ben grinned. "It wouldn't have helped, Lo," he answered. "That's why I call it the Widowmaker: it slays everyone that sees it!"

Managing to get his laughter under control, Reef looked around…and paled. "Uh…guys? Where'd the island go?"

Sure enough, Sunset Island was nowhere to be seen. "Oh, no! We must've got caught on a rip!" Fin cried.

"W-What?" Lo wailed. "You mean we're…we're lost at sea!"

Ben grimaced. "Okay, everybody just stay calm!" he said. "This is the absolute worst time to panic!"

"This is the PERFECT time to panic!" Reef cried. "Things can't get any worse!"

Now it was Fin's turn to pale. "Oh, yes they can!" she exclaimed. "SHARKS!"

Following her pointing finger, the others spotted a trio of dorsal fins gliding through the water towards them. "Everybody on your boards!" Ben shouted, pulling himself onto his board completely, as the others did the same. "No quick movements! Everyone stay still!"

As the sharks swam towards them, circling around their boards, the four surfers kept perfectly still, barely daring to breathe. Lo's lip quivered with terror. "Why won't they just go away?" she whimpered.

"They're trying to figure us out," Ben whispered. "Seconds ago, they smelled something right where we are, and now they can't find it. They're trying to pick up the scent…"

But he was cut off, as one shark bumped Ben's board, knocking him off of it, and into the dark water, where he vanished below the surface…as one dorsal fin dove after him. "BEN!" Lo screamed.

Reef wasn't much better. "Oh, man…oh, man…"

Suddenly, a brilliant flash of emerald light lit up the water under them for miles around…right before the shark was sent flying out of the water. Fin's eyes went wide. "What the heck was that?"

Looking around, Reef pointed to an approaching fin. "Lo, look out!" Gasping with fright, Lo tried to paddle away from the closing shark, but she was never going to make it…and then she saw it.

At first, she thought it looked like the antenna-thing of an angler-fish, but it was way too big, and it was moving too fast…but as it streaked right at the shark, the rest of it became clear: the antenna-thing was growing out of the forehead of a tall, well-muscled, pale-skinned humanoid creature, with green dorsal fins running down his back, beady black eyes – almost exactly like a shark's – and a maw filled with row upon row of razor-sharp teeth, each one as large as a spearpoint, with a long, green-black fish-tail where his legs should have been, and some kind of disc – Lo couldn't really make it out – embedded in its chest.

Leaping out of the water, the fish-thing tackled the approaching shark, knocking it deeper under the surface, where it passed directly under Lo's board; seconds later, that shark was sent flying across the ocean's surface, swimming away as fast as it could.

While the third shark swam at the sea-monster, the three groms were officially way beyond freaked-out. "Oh my God, what the hell IS that thing?" Reef cried. "W-We've gotta get out of here, or we're so dead!"

Fin was just as freaked, until she spotted something in the distance. "Look! There's an island over there! If we hurry, we can make it!"

Lo was horrified. "W-What about Ben? We can't just leave him!"

"Do you think I want to?" Fin cried. "If we're not gonzo by the time that thing finishes with the sharks, we're next!" As her two friends started paddling for safety, a stricken Lo took one last look towards the frothy open ocean, where Ben's board floated, before paddling after them.

XXXXXXXX

Surfer's Paradise

As his shift finished, Broseph was about to head out to the Office, but he had to pause to look at the Vintage Surfboard Collection; each and every one of the classic boards had been painstakingly displayed in glass cases throughout the lobby-quarium, highlighted perfectly against the blue of the shark-tank…and he'd actually been allowed to handle them.

Walking towards the Duke Hanale Board, Broseph grinned. 'Sweet coin, killer waves, and classic boards; life is good…'

Broseph…

That echoing whisper stopped Broseph's thoughts, drawing his gaze towards the carved, totemic face engraved into the board. 'Huh?'

Take me for a ride…

Broseph's eyes went wide. "Did…did you say something, bro?"

"That board spoke to you, huh?"

As The Kahuna walked up next to him, Broseph was shaken out of his reverie. "Whoa, that was heavy…"

The Kahuna's smile was knowing. "That board has chosen you, man," he said. "If you get the chance, you should go. All I'm saying."

As The Kahuna walked off, Emma darted in, rushing up to Johnny at his desk. "Johnny, have you seen Reef or Fin? They are going to freak when they see these boards!"

Johnny shook his head. "Sorry, Emma; I haven't seen them since they signed out."

"Wait…they're both M.I.A.?" Emma asked, before she gasped. "They're totally hooking up! I knew it!"

As Emma fished out her phone, Johnny smiled sheepishly. "Hold on, Emma; all we know is that they're missing at the same time…"

"Oh, come on, Johnny! It's so obvious!" Emma exclaimed. "I have to tell Lo!" Dialling in Lo's number, she made the call…but got no answer. "That's weird; she's usually right by her phone…" she began, and then she smiled. "Oh my gosh! She's still not back from her surf-date with Ben! THEY'RE hooking up, too!"

Johnny chuckled, as he gazed at her. "I guess love is in the air…"

Emma sighed. "I know; I wonder if Ty feels it, too…"

Johnny's smile collapsed. "Right. Ty. Of course."

Emma's sugary smile suddenly fell into an uncomfortable grimace, as her hands flew down to her shorts. "Uh…Johnny? Could you…watch the surfboards for a little while?" she murmured. "I…I kinda have to pee…"

"Sorry, Emma," Johnny said, checking his pager. "Bummer just buzzed me: Mr. Mitchells from Room 1302 is complaining about the pool. Duty calls."

As Johnny walked off, a stricken Emma turned to Broseph. "Broseph, watch the boards! I need to get to a bathroom before I burst!"

"No problem, bra; got your back." As Emma hobbled off, Broseph went back to appreciating the boards…

Broseph…

That haunting whisper drew Broseph's gaze back to the Hanale Balsam Board. "I'm…I'm just hearing things…"

Let's shred, dude…

Broseph gulped as he backed away. "Whoa…don't tempt me, bro…"

Come on, dude…hang ten…catch some waves…you know you want to…

Closing his eyes, Broseph tried to shut out the board's siren calls…before he opened them, and made his decision.

XXXXXXXX

International waters

After driving off the sharks, the fish-monster leapt onto Ben's surfboard, as his fish-tail morphed into a pair of scaly legs, right before the dial on his chest flared red, leaving Ben in his place. 'Man, talk about a lucky break; Ripjaws couldn't have PICKED a better time to pop back in the Omnitrix's lineup!'

Looking around, Ben spotted an island in the distance. 'I guess that's where the others headed,' he thought. 'I'd better get moving before those sharks come back!' With that, he started paddling.

Within several minutes, Ben reached the shoreline, where white sands and trees were the only things that greeted him. 'Okay, the others couldn't have gotten far; I just need to find them…'

"We have to go back!"

Hearing that familiar cry, Ben followed it around the bend, where he found Fin, Reef, and Lo, the latter of which looked immensely distressed. "Ben's still out there!" Lo cried. "We can't just leave him! We have to go looking!"

"With that sea-monster out there, too?" Reef protested. "Not a chance!"

Fin looked stricken. "Lo, as much as I hate to say it – and I really, really hate to say it – but we may have to the fact that Ben's…that Ben could be…"

Suppressing a guilty chuckle, Ben casually walked into view. "That I could be what?"

Turning around, Lo beamed as she saw Ben, before rushing over to hug him. "BEN! You're okay!" she exclaimed…before she remembered herself; stepping back, she frowned, swatting Ben on the shoulder. "What the hell, Ben? You scared me…I mean, you scared us half to death!"

Ben frowned back. "Hey, I wasn't exactly having the time of my life either, Lo!"

Fin looked worried. "Seriously, Ben, how'd you get away? We saw some kind of sea-monster out there with those sharks!"

Ben thought fast. "I know; I saw it!" he answered. "After I'd fallen off my board, those sharks were going for me, but then that…fish-thing fought them off! I didn't want to stick around, so I swam here!" He managed a smile. "I'm pretty sure it didn't follow me; I think it was trying to save me…"

"Yeah, save you for his lunch!" Reef said. "Did you see the teeth on that thing? Total Jaws 2.0!"

Fin looked equally grim. "So we're stuck choosing between a quick death at the hands of a sea-monster, or a slow one marooned on a deserted island," she muttered. "Terrific."

It was only then that Ben remembered their situation; they were all stuck on this – most likely uninhabited – island, with absolutely no idea where they were. "Oh, crap…"

Lo was even more distraught. "Oh, God…oh, God…t-this CAN'T be happening!" she wailed. "I-I had just impressed Daddy! H-He was probably going to let me come home!"

Reef was just as bad. "I'll never win Gromfest, now!" he lamented. "I'll never get discovered by a surf-mag agent…never make a bundle on endorsements…"

Fin snorted. "Like you had a chance at winning Gromfest to begin with…"

"Guys, this isn't helping!" Ben exclaimed. "Right now, our priority should be on surviving out here! We need to start working on three things: food, shelter, and a signal-fire!"

"Okay, fine!" Reef said. "You two betties start getting some shelter together, while me an' States go rustle up some grub…"

"Uh, excuse me? Who put you in charge, again?" Fin snapped. "Why do we have to find shelter?"

"Duh! Because only guys can hunt!" Reef said. "It's been that way since the caveman days!"

Fin's eyes narrowed. "Oh, so you'd be an expert on the subject?"

"QUIT it!" Ben shouted. "God, you two! We're all stranded on a deserted island, and you both can't stop snapping at each other for five freaking minutes? If we're going to get through this, we have to work together!" He paused, taking a deep breath. "Okay, let's just get organized about this. First of all, food; we're close to the ocean, so that's probably going to supply the majority of our diet. Does anybody here know how to fish?"

Calming, Fin raised her hand. "I used to go deep-sea fishing with my Grandpa when I was a kid, plus I aced my Girl Guides Marine Survival Gold Award!" she supplied. "I think I can rig a fishing-line with some seaweed and some of the shells on the beach!"

Ben grinned. "Sounds good, sailor!" he agreed. "Next, shelter: we're probably only going to be able to build a simple lean-to. Reef, think you can scrounge up some mid-sized sticks?"

Reef snorted. "Hey, if a betty can…"

"Spare us the commentary, man; yes or no?"

Reef sighed. "Yeah."

"Good. Just be sure you keep within a couple kilometers from here; we don't want anybody getting lost," Ben said. "While you're at it, keep an eye out for any edible berries or fruits; if we stick to fish for too long, scurvy's going to get us fast." Glancing along the shoreline to the east, he finished, "That only leaves the signal-fire. Lo, you and I had better start scouting for firewood and a vantage-point to build it where it'll be seen. We should also keep an eye out for any signs of habitation; this island might not be as deserted as we think."

Lo blinked. "O-Okay…"

Fin nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"Good," Ben said. "We'd better get moving; nightfall's only a few hours away, and we don't know what's out here." With that, he and Lo headed east along the shoreline, while Reef and Fin went about their tasks.

After a few minutes of walking, Ben spotted a nearby thicket. "I think that brush should be good for kindling," he remarked, walking towards it. "Lo, you keep an eye out for something we can use for the main fuel-source, okay?"

Lo sniffled. "Sure, why not? We're probably gonna be here the rest of our lives!"

Ben paused, glancing over his shoulder. "Lo, we can't think like that…"

"Why not? That's how my luck seems to be going!" Lo wailed. "First I get tossed out of the penthouse, and now that I've almost fixed it, this happens! That's twice my life has ended in less than two months! The only consolation is that things can't get any worse!"

Ben flinched, as he glanced down at the Omnitrix; it would be child's play to just go Jetray, fly off, and get help, but without knowing exactly where this island was, he'd never be able to find them again.

It would also mean exposing his secret to Lo…and risking her reaction. 'Oh, God…what do I do?' Lost in his thoughts, he never noticed Lo take one step towards him…

Crick!

That sound quickly stopped Ben's cogitation; as her left ankle bent in a way no ankle ever should, Lo erupted in a scream of agony. "OWWWWWWWW!"

His eyes wide with horror, Ben rushed to her side, catching her shoulders to support her before she collapsed. "Lo, are you okay?"

Lo was just barely suppressing tears. "Do I sound like I'm okay?"

Ben flinched. "Right; stupid question!" he admonished himself. "We'd better get you back to camp; can you walk at all?"

Lo sniffled, inching her foot back towards the ground. "I-I don't know; just let me see if I can – OWWWWWWWWW! OW, OW, OW!" She pulled her swelling foot back off the ground. "N-No, I can't walk!" she whimpered. "I should've known this day would get worse!"

Ben's expression was firm. "You can gripe about it later, Lo; we have to get you out of here."

"How?" Lo cried. "Right now my only options involve hopping, and it'll take forever to – EEEPP!"

Lo let out a squeak of surprise as Ben knelt down, taking hold behind her knees and shoulders, and lifted her up into his arms, carrying her bridal-style. "I think this'll be a little faster."

Blushing like crazy, Lo could barely stammer a reply. "O-Okay…" she managed to murmur, as Ben turned and hurried back towards the campsite.

XXXXXXXX

Lo had to admit, she was in a mild daze as Ben rushed her back to their improvised campsite; part of it was due to the throbbing pain in her ankle…but at least some of it had to be due to how Ben was carrying her.

In minutes, they reached the landing-site, marked by their boards jabbed into the sand; looking up, Lo saw that Reef's lean-to wasn't doing so well – at most, it looked like a very badly improvised tepee, that would probably fall over with one good breeze.

Fin, on the other hand, was proudly standing beside a line of fish she was hanging on a twisted-seaweed rope she'd suspended on two sticks, her expression smug as she leaned against the fishing-spear she'd constructed. "Sure you don't want any help, Barnacle-Brains?"

"As if!" Reef shot back. "This is gonna be the best lean-to you ever saw! You just wait!"

Shrugging, Fin glanced towards Ben and Lo…and her smile grew. "Well, I see you two didn't waste any time!"

"This is serious, Fin! Lo's hurt!" Ben exclaimed. "She twisted her ankle on a rock! It could be broken!"

Fin's smile quickly evaporated. "O-Oh, my God! Quick, put her down over here!" she said, gesturing to a nearby tree.

Ben nodded, hurrying to the tree and setting Lo beside it, letting her lean back against it as he stretched out her afflicted leg to full length. "Okay, Lo, I just need to check for any breaks," Ben warned. "This is gonna hurt a little, but we need to check, okay?"

Under any other circumstances, Lo would have been screaming her head off at the boy who had gotten her into this mess…but this was Ben; she trusted him. "O-Okay," she murmured, scrunching her eyes shut and bracing herself. Slowly, she felt Ben's fingers on her ankle, starting close to her instep, and carefully approaching the swollen area, gently probing for breaks; as his hands pressed on the angry red sections, Lo felt pain flare up again, but not quite as bad as before. "Ow, ow, ow…"

Mercifully, Ben's diagnosis lasted only a few more seconds. Breathing a relieved sigh, he withdrew his hands. "I don't think it's broken; it's probably just sprained," he said. "We'll still need to immobilize it, though; Fin, do you have any long strands of seaweed? Long enough to wrap around her foot?"

Fin nodded. "I think so."

"Good." Ben turned to Reef. "Reef, we're gonna need some of your lumber, there – two sticks, each long enough to span the distance from Lo's bottom heel to the top of her shin. In the meantime, I'll go find a flat rock to support her foot."

As Ben hurried off, Lo could only watch him go, her eyes wide, as though she were only noticing him for the first time: his emerald eyes cast into that rugged-yet-boyishly handsome face, warmed by a reassuring smile that made her knees go wobbly. The rest of him was just as good to look at: his arms and torso, still fairly pale, were moderately chiselled – he wasn't taking 1st Place in any bodybuilding competitions, but he kept himself in good enough shape to at least get an Honourable Mention, especially with those fairly-toned abs. 'Soccer has OBVIOUSLY been good to him…'

Her appreciative gaze quickly went wide, as that last observation combined with everything she already knew about him – him standing up to Kelly, confronting her about her advice to Emma, her freak-out when he'd gone out with Cecilia, her sadness upon learning about Julie, and her recent change of heart about him, over the past few days – to produce one glaring computation. 'Oh. My. Gosh.'

Before now, she'd thought of Ben as, at most, a Type Two guy: a brief, sweet, summer-fling…but now, she knew better. 'He's…he's a Type THREE, easily…'

"Admiring the view?"

Lo froze as a smirking Fin walked up, sitting down next to her, several lengths of seaweed in hand. "You're not going to try and deny it anymore, are you?"

Lo's blush came back, full-force, though her expression was of amazed joy. "I…I'd have never believed it!" she exclaimed, as softly as she could. "Ben is…is Total Boyfriend Material!" Her smile collapsed into dismay. "How did I miss this? Even stupid Stanhope saw it before I did!"

Fin shrugged. "Hey, you probably just misread the messages."

Lo arched an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Fin sighed. "Look, emotions basically break down into two components: levels of physiological arousal, and either a positive or negative cognitive label," she explained. "With a positive label, high arousal gives you things like ecstatic joy, while low arousal gives simple happiness; on the negative side, low arousal gives sadness, while high arousal gives things like anger or hatred." She grinned. "Basically, on the day you two met, him bumping into you put a negative label in your head, so that when the sight of him got your body all hot and bothered, your brain misread your body's message of "I think that guy's cute!" as "That cute guy just hurt me! That JERK!"" She chuckled. "And now that the label's gone, the message can get through!"

Lo just stared at her.

Fin groaned. "Look, my grandpa's a shrink, okay?"

Lo started to grin. "So what's still messing up your brain about the messages it gets about Reef?"

Fin frowned. "Don't even go there, Ridgemount."

"Found one!"

Popping up from under the surface of the water, Ben held up a perfectly flat stone, around the same size as Lo's foot. Rushing over, he placed the stone flat against the sole of her foot. Once Reef walked over with the two splints, Ben placed them on both sides of her shin, allowing Fin to loop seaweed around Lo's instep, and then around her shin just above her ankle, immobilizing it in a perfect, improvised splint. "Okay, that should do for now," Ben observed. "It'll hold until we can get out of here."

Lo smiled happily. "Thanks."

Smiling slyly, Fin glanced to Reef. "Consider this your lucky day, Chowderhead; I'm gonna help you find some decent building-material. Let's go."

"What? No way!" Reef protested. "I don't need any betty's help to – OW!" His remark was cut off by Fin's elbow in his gut, followed by her tilting her head towards Ben and Lo. Reef just blinked, before his eyes widened. "Oh!" he exclaimed, smiling knowingly. "Riiiiight…I gotcha! Be my guest!" With that, he and Fin walked off in the opposite direction, but not before Reef tossed Ben a conspiratorial wink.

Lo suppressed a chuckle. "Well, that was subtle," she said, before wincing.

"Yeah." Ben's smile dimmed. "I guess this was probably the worst date you've ever been on, right?"

Lo blinked. "Why?"

Ben snorted. "Look at us! We got caught on a rip, chased by sharks and sea-monsters, marooned on a deserted island, and I got your ankle hurt!"

Lo smiled. "Well, maybe," she said, "but you also shredded some sweet waves with me, made me laugh major water up my nose with that "Widowmaker" face of yours, actually got Reef and Fin to stop fighting on two occasions, managed to keep cool long enough for us to make a plan to get out of here, and you rushed me to safety and patched said ankle up!" Her cheeks started to burn. "This first date has to be way more entertaining than my folks' first date."

"Oh?" Ben asked, intrigued. "What happened?"

"That was the night they met," Lo answered. "I mean, you should know; your Grandpa helped it happen!"

"All I know is that, back when Grandpa was in the Air Force, he and a few of his service-pals – including your Dad, I guess – took a trip up to B.C. for a rock-concert," Ben replied. "Grandpa got…called away for a little bit; by the time he got back, the concert was over, and your Dad was with this hippie-chick – your Mom. That's all I know."

Lo nodded. "Well, maybe I can fill in the blanks," she offered. "My Mom told me that she and Daddy met in her first year of college; she was this total flower-child! She and her friends went to this concert – the one you mentioned – and she kinda got separated from them…and then they saw each other."

"Your Mom and your Dad?"

Lo beamed. "It was total love at first sight!" she cooed. "I mean, she was all about peace, and he was this U.S. Army Ranger, but whatever people say about opposites attracting was totally true, and then the band started playing this slow song, right at that moment!" She sighed dreamily, clasping her hands. "And that pretty much sealed the deal: they both knew they were meant to be…"

"…and that's where my Grandpa found them," Ben finished.

Lo nodded. "They kept in touch ever since then," she continued. "Finally, Daddy decides to pop the question, Mom says yes, and Daddy immigrates to Canada and settles down with Mom in Sunset Beach!"

Ben grinned. "And the rest is history," he said. "Well, it's nice to see they've still got their happy ending, right?"

Lo smiled back. "As traumatizing as it is to see, sometimes, it's nice to know they're still in love," she agreed. "I guess fairy-tale endings can happen!"

Ben chuckled. "And what about horror-stories like this date?"

Lo giggled. "I wouldn't go that far," she reminded him. "If I have to be stranded on a deserted island…I'm glad you're here with me."

Ben's smile grew. "I'm…glad you're here, too." Just then, a wolf cried out in the distance, causing Ben to jerk up, his eyes darting around, noticing the sun starting to set. "Wow, it's…it's getting dark faster than I thought," he murmured. "Look, I'm going to try and find some flint so we can start a fire, okay?"

Lo looked stricken. "Y-You're leaving?"

Ben smiled gently. "I'll be gone just five minutes, tops," he promised. "I'll only be going a few meters from here; if you need me, you just scream out and I'll come running. Promise."

Lo smiled back at him. "Okay," she cooed. "Hurry back."

"I will." With that, Ben got up, and hurried into the woods. Alone on the beach, Lo simply leaned back, to enjoy the sunset as much as she could.

She was stranded on a deserted island with a guy that – there was no sense denying it, now – she definitely liked.

There were worse fates.

XXXXXXXX

Surfer's Paradise

"Ahhhhh! What a relief!"

After her little bathroom-break, Emma made her way back to the lobby, walking in just as a distraught-looking Johnny was returning to his desk. "Are you okay?"

Johnny's left eye was visibly twitching. "Old man Chester…cannonball…floating swim-trunks…"

Emma gasped as she pieced together the sense of that statement. "Oh, no…did you see..?"

"So…much…skin…" Johnny whimpered. "Never…going to pool…ever again…"

"Where is my summer-staff?"

Bummer's bellow shook Johnny out of his shock as the hotel manager stormed into view. "Could someone please explain to me why Reef, Fin, and Ben are two hours late for punch-in?" he fumed. "And where is Broseph? He's supposed to be helping with check-ins!"

Emma gulped. "I-I just asked him to watch the boards for me, sir!"

"Well, where is he?" Bummer snapped, looking around…before his tone turned panicked. "And where is the Duke Hanale board?"

"W-What?" Emma cried, her eyes darting to the empty space where the board should have been. "It…it was right there, a few minutes ago!"

Bummer was just as panicked. "Oh, God…the hotel's reputation will never recover if we let that board get damaged!" he wailed. "I have to report to Mr. Ridgemount about the exhibit; I'll stall him for as long as I can, so find that board!"

As Bummer raced off, Emma was in full freak-out mode. "Oh God, oh God, oh God…" she murmured. "J-Johnny, what do we do?"

Johnny's hands were blurring over his computer-console. "There's still no sign of Reef, Fin, Lo, or Ben! We'd better find them; we'll need to cover the entire hotel as fast as we can!" he exclaimed. "We also need to find Broseph; he may have seen something!"

"Okay!" Emma agreed. "That should be easy; if he's not at work, he's usually surfing…"

Her statement stopped dead in its tracks, her wide-eyed expression matching Johnny's, as they both came to the same conclusion at the same time.

"BROSEPH!"

XXXXXXXX

Unknown island

"Ugh, REEF! That's not the kind of material we need! No wonder your last lean-to sucked out loud!"

Frowning, Reef tossed the thin sticks he'd been gathering aside at Fin's remark. "Oh, like you can do better?"

Fin snorted, as she held up a mid-sized branch. "As a matter of fact, yes!"

Reef rolled his eyes, standing up to follow her. "Whatever."

"Okay, seriously, Reef, when are you going to admit it?" Fin asked, taking a step towards a shallow pool. "Girls are just as capable as…"

Glancing ahead, Reef's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, before he sprinted after her. "WHOA!"

Reef's hand on her elbow stopped Fin in mid-step…putting a murderous glare on her face. "Put that hand somewhere else, kook, or you're going to lose it."

"Be happy to," Reef answered, "just as long as you put that foot somewhere else, or you'll wish you'd lost it."

Fin arched an eyebrow. "What?" she asked, looking down. "What are you talking about…" Her voice trailed off as she saw where she'd been about to step: a small drainage pool…filled with orange jellyfish. "Oh."

"Yeah," Reef said, letting go as Fin stepped back. "The Pacific's full of those guys; they must have got stuck when the tide moved out."

Fin gulped. "Are they poisonous?"

Reef shrugged. "No worse than getting stung by a bee," he answered. "If anything, the cure is worse than the sting."

"The cure?"

Reef paled. "Trust me: you don't want to know."

Fin blinked. "How do you know so much about jellyfish?"

Reef sighed. "My foster-folks are big-time oceanographers, okay?" he replied. "Every summer, me and my kid sister would tag along on their expeditions, and we'd get to hear them babble about whatever rare species they're studying." He met her gaze. "Long story short, I know as much about fish as you do about catching 'em."

Fin's eyes went wide. "Was…that a compliment?"

Reef quickly looked away. "Maybe."

"Wow," Fin replied. "Well…thanks, I guess." She scratched her head. "And for…not letting me get stung."

Reef grinned. "Cut me in on some of that fish you caught, and we'll call it even," he answered. "Y'know, provided that sea-monster hasn't eaten it, already."

Fin chuckled. "Deal!" she agreed. "I don't think that we need to worry, yet; you remember just before that sea-monster showed up? There was this big green flash right before it happened!"

Reef's eyes went wide. "Whoa…you're right!"

Fin nodded. "Plus, that time me, Emma, and Lo saw that huge dinosaur, right after it made tracks, we saw this red flash of light!" she added. "I'm still trying to figure that one out."

Reef shuddered. "So, monsters show up on a green flash, and leave on a red one?" he asked. "What, are they following traffic-signals?"

Fin suppressed a chuckle at that. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"So we're stuck out here, in the middle of nowhere, with a sea-monster that follows traffic-lights, and no clean underwear," Reef muttered. "Great."

Fin shrugged. "Hey, that's why I just wear my swimsuit under my uniform."

Reef's eyes went wide. "Seriously?"

"Yep; I just let the ocean wash me clean."

Reef still looked dumbfounded. "Okay, if you tell anybody else I said this, I'll so deny it…but that is GENIUS!" he exclaimed. "Man! Why didn't I think of that?" His expression turned forlorn. "All those wasted hours doing laundry…I could've been surfing!"

Fin laughed. "Uh, thank you! That's what I told Emma and Lo!" she agreed, before she started to walk into the forest. "Come on, it's getting dark; we need to find something to build with."

"Okay," Reef said, "but remember: no telling Ben or Lo I said that…"

Suddenly, his statement was cut off…as a flare of brilliant green light flared through the woods, a few meters ahead of them.

Fin froze in her tracks, her face pale. "D-Did you see that?"

Reef gulped. "Maybe extra underwear would be a good idea, right about now…"

Crouching low, Fin started to creep further into the forest. "Come on; if we're lucky, we can get a look at this thing before it sees us!" she whispered.

"Are you nuts?" Reef whispered back. "This thing could take on sharks, and you want to go after it?"

"We know it's here," Fin insisted, "but it doesn't know we're here! If we have to be stuck on this island, I want to know what we're dealing with!"

Reef groaned. "Betty, you're crazy!" he grumbled, but he still followed her, deeper into the brush.

They had only gone a few feet when it hit them. "Holy mother of…what's that smell?" Fin gasped. "Did something die?"

"Man! Not even Ripper reeks like this!" Reef coughed, trying to look ahead through his burning eyeballs. "Think it's that mud-pile over there?"

Following his pointing finger, Fin glanced ahead to the large, dark-green pile of muddy mass…in time to see it stand up. "Reef…that isn't mud…"

Standing at its full height, the green, muddy humanoid paused, stiffening, before it turned its flame-shaped head over its shoulder, its green eyes spotting them.

Reef and Fin both froze, not daring to move.

At the sight of them, the mud-man's eyes went wide…before it turned, and bolted off.

Reef blinked. "Wait…if it's the monster…why's it running away from us?"

Fin was one step ahead of him. "Wait!" she shouted, running after the mud-man. "Wait, we just want to talk to you!" The mud-man didn't listen, as it bounded away, clearing fallen logs and small hills with effortless ease, leaving Fin struggling to keep pace. Turning suddenly, the mud-monster darted behind a large tree-trunk; putting on an extra burst of speed, Fin raced to catch it, rounding the trunk…

…and finding absolutely nothing. "W-What the…where'd it go?" she exclaimed. "It was right here!"

Seconds later, a winded Reef caught up with her. "What…happened?"

Fin was incredulous. "It…it just up and vanished!" she replied. "I mean…what the hell?"

Reef took a sniff…and grimaced. "Okay, it couldn't have gone far; I'm still getting its stink!"

Sniffing, Fin suppressed the urge to hurl. "Yeah, it has to be close!" she agreed. "Okay, maybe it went that way! Come on!" With that, the two of them sprinted of…missing the rustle in the low underbrush to their right.

After a few minutes, Reef and Fin emerged back onto the beach, with not a monster in sight. Sniffing the air, Fin frowned. "Ugh, we lost him!"

Reef frowned as he looked around…before his expression turned dumbfounded. "Uh…Fin?"

"What?" Looking in the direction Reef was, Fin's jaw dropped open. "Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me…"

XXXXXXXX

After Reef and Fin had sprinted away, the low-growing underbrush started to rustle…revealing a tuft of flame-red, leafy foliage hidden within the brush; seconds later, the red leaves erupted into a flame-shaped, green-eyed, leafy head, attached to a dark-green, muddy torso, which pulled itself out of the earth it had been hiding in.

Standing back at his full height, Swampfire grinned to himself. "Works every time!" he exclaimed, before looking around. Finding a fair-sized dry stick, he picked it up with one hand, as he released a cloud of concentrated swamp-gas from the other, igniting it and holding it over the end of the stick, lighting it easily. Sticking the unlit end back in the ground, Swampfire tapped the control-dial on his chest; with one flash of emerald light, Ben was back to normal. Picking up the improvised torch, Ben was about to go…but a small, deep blue flower caught his eye. Smiling, he reached down to pick it, before walking back to the beach.

Within minutes, he was back at their base-camp, where Lo was waiting, none the worse for wear. Seeing him, she smiled. "Hey."

"Hey," Ben greeted back, setting the torch's unlit end in the sand, before piling up the remnants of Reef's failed lean-to into a fire-pit a safe distance from Lo; once the pit was made, Ben simply lit it with the torch, and then sat back next to Lo, letting the campfire grow.

Lo shrugged. "Not bad," she said. "It's no penthouse, but…if we have to live here, I guess it's not so bad."

Ben chuckled. "Glad our situation meets your approval," he quipped. "Which reminds me: I saw this in the forest, and I know it's not much, but…it made me think of you." With that, he held out the flower.

Lo gasped. "Ben, it's…it's beautiful…" She smiled. "Thank you."

Grinning, Ben leaned in, to very carefully weave the flower into Lo's hair, right over her other ear, parallel to her floral hair-clip. "A perfect match!" he said. "Your crown is complete, oh fair Princess!"

Lo giggled. "Thank you, kind sir!" she teased back, before her face turned rosy at her next words. "Now, your Princess decrees that this brave knight help her keep warm!"

Ben grinned. "Milady's wish is my command!" he joked, before inching closer, to loop an arm over her shoulders, feeling his own face burn as Lo leaned her head against his shoulder. 'Wow…'

Lo sighed. "So…I guess we'd better build that signal-fire, tomorrow," she said. "Otherwise, we'll be stuck here for a long time…"

Ben grimaced as guilt flooded him, as he spared a glance towards the Omnitrix on his wrist next to Lo's shoulder; it was bad enough he had Lo, Fin, and Reef thinking there were monsters here, but now they were going to be stuck here just because he was keeping his secret from them. "Lo," he began, "I…I might have a way for us to get off the island…"

"Ben?" Lo asked, looking up at him. "Can we just…talk about that later?" She nuzzled closer to him. "It's just…really nice here, right now."

Meeting her gaze, Ben's breath froze in his throat as the fading sunlight mixed with the firelight across her skin, turning her sun-caressed skin a radiant mix of tropical oranges and reds; right now, she was so fragile, so vulnerable…and so ethereally beautiful.

His secret could wait; right now, she needed him, and he had absolutely no power to resist or deny her. "Okay," he whispered. Instantly, he was rewarded with her radiant smile, before she closed her eyes, trusting him as she leaned up to him. Drawn by her invitation, Ben leaned down, to meet her…

"Ben! Lo!"

Fin's call shattered the spell, stopping Ben and Lo's lips millimetres from each other. Frowning in annoyance, Ben looked to their two friends as they came running up. "Yeah?"

Lo wasn't any happier about the interruption than Ben was. "What is it?" she snapped.

Fin's face was flat. "Quick question," she said. "When you two went for firewood…which way did you go?"

Confused, Ben pointed to the east, opposite to the direction they'd came from. "That way," he answered. "Why?"

"No reason, bro," Reef answered, "except that if you'd gone the other way, you'd have saved us a lot of trouble."

Lo blinked. "Okay, what are you talking about?"

Fin sighed. "That rip just pulled us around Sunset Island; we washed up not even one kilometer east of the hotel," she muttered, pointing over her shoulder. "Surfer's Paradise is just five minutes' walking that way."

Ben's eyes went wide. "You're kidding."

Reef shook his head. "We kid you not."

Lo's mouth fell open. "We're…not stranded?" A smile spread across her face. "We're NOT stranded! We're saved! We can go home!" she squealed. "We can go home and I can go back to the penthouse! EEEEEEEEE!"

Ben chuckled nervously. "Wow…sorry about that, guys."

"Apologize later; right now, we need to get back!" Fin exclaimed. "We're hours late for our shifts!"

Ben nodded. "You guys take Lo to the hotel infirmary; I'll stay to put out the fire and grab our boards."

"Okay," Lo agreed, smiling shyly. "Just…don't take too long, okay?"

Ben smiled back. "Sure." With that, Reef and Fin walked over to Lo, kneeling down to loop one of her arms over each of their shoulders, and then standing up, helping her walk back to the hotel, while Ben got up and retrieved his board, flipping it long-side down into the sand, to use it as an improvised bulldozer, pushing sand up around the fire-pit and smothering the flames. With the fire doused, Ben started towards the others' boards…but he paused as he glanced out at the waves. 'Hey…is that Broseph?' His eyes went wide. 'Is that Broseph on the DUKE HANALE BOARD?'

And then he spotted a familiar shape behind him. 'Oh, CRAP!' Dropping his board, he dove into the incoming surf, popping up the Omnitrix's control-dial and selecting a familiar shape…

XXXXXXXX

A few minutes earlier

"So, we were just a few minutes away from the hotel, all this time?"

As her two friends helped her hobble along the beach, just coming into view of the resort, Lo was still incredulous. "We were going to try and build a campsite and a signal fire, and then scavenge for food…when we were practically next door?"

"Pretty much," Fin said.

Lo's eyes narrowed. "And you couldn't have just waited five freaking SECONDS to tell us that?"

Fin arched an eyebrow. "Why? Did we interrupt something?"

Lo could only blush in response.

Reef grinned. "So, States made his move, huh? Nice!"

"GUYS!"

Looking ahead, Lo saw an out-of-breath Emma race up to them, followed by a winded Johnny. "Please tell me…you've seen…Broseph…just now!" Emma puffed out.

"Emma, we haven't seen anyone, all afternoon!" Fin replied. "You guys are the first people we've seen!"

Looking around, Reef arched an eyebrow. "Hey…isn't that him?"

Looking out at the surf, Lo spotted Broseph on the waves…riding on the Duke Hanale Board! "WHAT?" she shrieked. "What is he doing on that board?"

Emma looked stricken. "He must have taken it while I was in the bathroom!" she lamented. "If he damages it, we're dead!"

Lo went ghost-white. "I'm deader!" she agreed, before yelling out over the waves. "BROSEPH! Get your butt and that board back here NOW!" Looking up, Broseph glanced towards the beach…at which point a rogue wave upended him, sending him toppling into the drink. Coughing, Broseph swam back to the surface, clinging to the legendary board…and never spotting the trio of tell-tale dorsal-fins that were closing on him from behind…

Emma's eyebrows shot up past her hairline in utter horror. "Broseph, watch out! SHARKS!"

And then, they saw the emerald flash.

As the green light faded beneath the water, Lo spotted a familiar shadow under the surface, darting towards Broseph at torpedo-speeds, before going deeper; by then, the sharks were practically on top of their friend, starting to dive deep…only to get blasted out of the water one-by-one, K.O.'d by something far deadlier than they were. Seconds later, the fish-thing leapt up out of the water, extending two scaly legs from his fish-tail, to land on the Duke Hanale board perfectly. As the next wave – a big one – started to roll in, the fish-monster reached down and grabbed Broseph, tossing him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, before catching the wave, riding it out.

Reef paled. "Okay…that is officially the freakiest thing I've ever seen!"

Fin gulped. "I hear you!" she agreed. "I don't know what's spookier: the fact that there's a sea-monster out there, shredding on that board…or the fact that he isn't doing that bad!"

Lo could only nod at that – monster or not, this thing was rippin' it up, out there. The monster quickly cut back along the wave, keeping its balance along the shifting current, before darting up past the whitecap, executing a perfect 360-nosegrab spin, and landing, to let the current carry him, the board, and Broseph to shore.

As the monster set Broseph back on his feet, the bewildered grom could only stare as it picked up the board, looked it over…and handed it back to him. "Nice board."

Broseph managed to work his jaw as he took the board back. "Uh…thanks, bro."

The fish-thing's beady eyes narrowed at him in annoyance. "I'd keep it in its case, though," it warned, its voice a low hiss. "You might damage it."

"Uh…right." Before Broseph could say anything else, a red light started flashing from a dial on the thing's chest; instantly, the thing raced back out into the sea, disappearing as it ran into the incoming waves.

Still staring out into the waves, Broseph almost didn't notice as the other groms raced up beside him. "You okay, man?" Johnny asked.

Broseph blinked. "That…was…GIGANTIC!" he whooped. "Dudes, did you just see that? Did you see those mad moves that thing just pulled? EPIC!"

Emma chuckled. "He's okay."

Broseph nodded. "I totally get it now, bros! These monsters are showing up for the monster waves out there! They just wanna shred, like us!"

Reef rolled his eyes. "Riiiiiiiiight."

Lo looked stricken. "Who cares about that?" she cried. "We've got to get that board back now, or Daddy'll have all our butts in a sling!"

Nodding, Johnny took the board from Broseph. "You heard her, guys! We need to move!" With that, he sprinted back towards the hotel, followed by Broseph and Emma, while Reef and Fin helped Lo hobble after them.

By the time Reef, Fin, and Lo had caught up, Johnny, Emma, and Broseph had gotten the Duke Hanale board back in its case, just as Mr. Ridgemount, Kai, and Bummer emerged from the elevator. "Sir, I am telling you: the Duke Hanale Vintage Balsam Board is missing!" Kai insisted. "I came by five minutes ago, and it was gone!"

Bummer laughed nervously. "Mr. Ridgemount, I assure you, it's perfectly fine!" he said, his eyes darting around. "See? It's in its case, safe and sound!"

His eyes going wide, Kai darted over, looking over the board. "Huh…it looks okay…"

James frowned. "Alright, what's going on here?" he demanded.

Emma thought fast. "We…we had to take the Duke Hanale board down for a few minutes, sir!" she said. "I noticed a little dust on it, so I gave it a quick polish! That's why it was out of its case!"

James arched an eyebrow. "Lauren? Why was Miss Mackenzie taking care of your exhibit?"

Lo smiled helplessly. "Because I put her in charge, Daddy!"

"And why did you do that?"

Lo gulped. "Uh…well…"

"It was my fault, sir."

Turning towards the entrance, everyone saw Ben walk in, setting down the surfboards he'd been carrying. "Lo and I were out catching waves; I asked her to come with me."

James' eyes narrowed. "Well, Benjamin, I must say I'm very surprised to hear…"

"No, Daddy!" Lo cried. "No, no, no! It wasn't Ben's fault! Ben had just asked me to go surfing with him on our lunch-break, that's all! We were going to come right back afterwards, but then we met up with Reef and Fin, and then we got caught on a rip and got pulled out to sea! When we paddled back, we thought we were on some deserted island, even though we'd only just drifted along the shore! The three of us were close to panicking, but Ben got us organized long enough to realize we weren't stranded!" She held out her foot for emphasis. "He even helped patch up my ankle when I twisted it!"

James' eyes went wide. "Holy…are you okay, sweetheart?"

Lo nodded. "I am, but I wouldn't have been, if it wasn't for Ben!"

"I see," James said. "Well, considering that, along with the fact that there was no harm done, I suppose I can let it slide." He turned to Bummer. "Wouldn't you say so, Andrew?"

Bummer sighed, likely bummed that he wouldn't be able to dish out a strike. "I suppose so, sir."

"Good." James looked back to his daughter. "You'd better have the nurse at the infirmary take a look at that ankle, honey, and be sure to take it easy at work, tomorrow."

Lo wilted. 'So much for getting back in the penthouse.' "I will, Daddy."

As Mr. Ridgemount and Bummer headed off, Kai scratched his head. "Whoa…sorry about that, dudes."

Broseph shrugged. "No problem, bro; it's all good."

Glancing to Lo, Kai smiled. "So…you still want to hang out, sometime?"

Ben frowned. "Dude. She just twisted her ankle!" he snapped. "Do you think she's up to hanging out, right now?"

"Uh, yeah!" Lo agreed. "Inconsiderate, much?"

Kai blinked in surprise, before he shrugged. "Whatever." With that, he walked off.

Lo rolled her eyes. "Ugh; total Type One!"

Ben arched an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Lo blushed. "Nothing!" she said quickly. "Anyway…thanks for trying to take the heat off me."

Ben grinned. "Thanks for taking the heat off me," he replied. "So…need help getting to the infirmary?"

"A little."

Reef and Fin both smiled knowingly. "We were just gonna grab a few waves; right, Chowderhead?"

Reef grinned back. "You know it, ugly." With that, they both eased Lo's arms off their shoulders, allowing her to loop one arm around Ben's shoulders, before walking off.

Emma giggled. "I think I'll go catch some waves, too!"

Johnny nodded. "Likewise!" With that, they headed after Reef and Fin.

Ben chuckled. "Like you said: subtle."

Lo smiled. "They try."

Awesome waves out there, bros…

Lo and Ben both froze at that. "Did…did you hear something?" Lo asked.

Ben nodded. "Who said that?"

"Whoa…you heard it too, bros?"

Lo had almost forgotten Broseph was still there; as she and Ben turned, they found him staring at the Duke Hanale board. "I thought that board would be done talking, by now…"

Lo blinked. "You're saying the board said that?"

"Yeah, bra; why'd you think I took it for a spin?" Broseph asked. "It said the waves would be awesome!" He grinned. "And it was right!"

"Uh-huh," Ben said. "Well, why don't you go catch some more, before that board gives you any more ideas?"

"Good call, bro; swiping stuff is bad karma. Later!" With that, Broseph headed out.

Lo arched an eyebrow. "Talking surfboards. Wow."

Ben shrugged. "Only at this hotel," he remarked, before they continued on…

…and just as they were about to leave, Lo heard the voice again; it was still creepy, but these words brought a smile to her face.

Totally hooked-up…

XXXXXXXX

The sun was starting to dip lower over the beach as the five groms raced into the surf, boards at the ready; on the beach itself, tourists had gathered, intrigued by the sighting of yet another mysterious creature, eagerly looking out to sea, to try and catch a glimpse of it.

No-one was looking at the sand itself…nor at the long-haired British man, in plain red swim-shorts as he walked along the sand, looking down through a high-tech device, illuminating the traces of human footprints…and then one that wasn't human.

Analyzing…done; Piscciss Volann DNA detected.

Looking at his scanner's readout, the man smiled, before switching on his communicator. "Forever One calling Men-at-Arms; converge on my location." His next words held a chill.

"Tennyson is here."

XXXXXXXX

Omnitrix Database

File-name: Ripjaws

Species-name: Piscciss Volann

Home planet: Piscciss

Abilities: Subject is capable of living and respiring underwater indefinitely and at any depth; there are no known upper limits to subject's deep-sea depth tolerance. Subject can swim at speeds in excess of 120 knots; retractable skeleton allows for locomotion on land. Subject's cranial-growth can emit light through chemoluminescence, enabling subject to see in darker waters. Subject also possesses terrestrial lungs, but these rapidly dehydrate outside of contact with water; subject's land-based survivability is extremely limited, and can perish within five minutes' of exposure. Subject's teeth are extremely sharp; subject also possesses extremely dense jaw-muscles, allowing subject to bite through almost any known structural materials. Subject possesses slightly above-average strength, and is relatively fragile when out of water.

Description: Arising from the water-world of Piscciss, the Piscciss Volann evolved much like any other water-dweller; much like the sharks of Earth, it has never needed to evolve beyond its current state. The unchallenged supreme marine predator of its birth-world, the Piscciss Volann can catch prey at any depth, be it in the brightest blues of the surface-region, or in the deepest darks near Piscciss' solid core. Maintaining a relatively simple existence, the Piscciss Volann has had little contact with other societies beyond its world, due to its inability to survive outside of water for any extended length of time; the first encounter between the Piscciss Volann and galactic society occurred when a Plumber vessel crash-landed on Piscciss, and the chief engineer later noted that a bite had been taken out of the hull. Despite this, the Piscciss Volann is fairly intelligent, and is capable of communication with other species, but, barring several exceptions, is uninterested in leaving its domain; the Plumbers have had some success in modifying rebreather-suits to accommodate the Piscciss Volann outside of its environment. Further studies of Piscciss suggest that its core's mass cannot sustain the gravity needed to confine its ocean to the planet, and a type of artificial gravity-generator is in use; the validity of these claims has yet to be determined.

File-name: Swampfire

Species-name: Methanosian

Home planet: Methanos

Abilities: Subject consists of sentient plant-matter bonded to peat-material containing chemosynthetic bacteria; bacteria fix inorganic compounds into usable organic nutrients, releasing gaseous methane as a by-product, while plant-matter hydrates and protects bacterial colony. This ability renders subject immune to many known pollutants. By harnessing methane gas, subject can ignite gas by means of a special enzyme in short bursts as a defensive weapon, or in long bursts for short-range flight; subject can also release gas as a passive defense, repelling any predators with functioning olfactory glands. Subject also possesses regenerative capability beyond any known scope, and can regenerate entire limbs and organs unaided. Bacterial colony can release gaseous parasitic spores, enabling subject to control any known plant-life, excepting its own species. Subject can generate rapidly germinating seed-pods to give rise to defensive foliage, and root itself into the ground to hide. Subject possesses strength well above average, and has limited ability to repair injuries sustained by other sentients.

Description: Once an idyllic planet, Methanos was reduced to a toxic swampland by trans-galactic dumping. While most plant-life died, one plant-species survived, eventually giving rise to the Methanosian race. With their ability to metabolize inorganic compounds considered toxic to many plant and animal species, the Methanosians managed to gradually detoxify their homeworld, upon which they discovered the vessel used to dump waste on their planet; after learning how to operate the vessel's sub-space communicator, the Methanosians promptly contacted the Plumbers. Exposure of the galactic dumping-ring soon followed, effectively bringing the Methanosians into the fold.

Today, the Methanosian people are proud members of galactic society. Sought after by many in the waste-disposal industry, many Methanosians also work in law-enforcement, especially in the Plumber organization.

XXXXXXXX

Author's Note: My apologies for being a little late in updating, but my final exams are coming up, so the next few chapters may be a little late, too; please bear with me! Thanks for understanding!

Coming Soon (back by popular demand!):

Their differences (mostly) resolved, Ben and Lo are anxious to hook up…

…if they can only find the time.

When they both get saddled with babysitting duty, our new favourite almost-couple both think they've finally got their chance, but have they bitten off more than they can chew?

And with Reef's discovery on Office grounds, his luck takes a turn for the worse…

…but with Fin hot on the "monsters'" tail, he may not be the only one.

Can Ben keep his secret under wraps?

Find out, in "Tiny Terrors, Evil Idols, and Surfer Secrets," coming to your computer soon…