Chapter 7: Animo's Wrath

I Don't Own Ben 10 Or Any Of The Characters

"Come on, kids!" I heard Grandpa Max say. "We're here!"

Gwen and I had been laying on the cot, until I heard Grandpa say this. I gently pushed Gwen off of me, and I ran out from the curtain.

"All right!" I said, running towards the door. "Time for a normal breakfast!"

Grandpa opened the door, and we all walked outside, and towards the Denny's restaurant.

Kai walked up to me, and whispered, "I saw you two making out."

I stared at her.

"Don't tell Grandpa Max or your Grandpa Wes."

"I won't." she said, as we walked through the doors.

"Booth for five, please." Grandpa Max said, when he walked up to the man.

"We'll see what we have." the man said, walking away.

I stood there, waiting for us to be seated.

"So," I asked Grandpa. "What else are we doing today?"

He shrugged.

"Let's see how well breakfast goes first." he said.

I nodded, and walked over to Gwen, who was staring off into space, or at least, it looked like it.

"You know," I whispered into her ear. "You're a really good kisser."

She blushed a deep red, and I giggled.

"What are you two laughing about?" Wes said.

"Nothing, nothing." I said, spinning around with a nervous smile on my face.

"Ben," Grandpa said. "It's not nice to laugh, and then not share with your group."

I gulped.

"Oh," I said. "Well, Gwen just told me a really funny joke!"

I heard Kai call me a liar under her breath.

"How'd it go, Gwen?"

Gwen looked at Kai, Grandpa and Wes.

"Well, uh," she stammered still blushing from my compliment. "It went something like this. What did the duck say, after he ate his food at a restaurant?"

Grandpa looked at her.

"I don't know," he said. "What?"

Gwen started laughing.

"Put it on my "bill"!" she giggled.

Wes and Grandpa cracked a few small laughs.

"That's pretty good, Gwen." Wes said, as he chuckled.

"You will be seated now." the waiter said, returning to us.

Grandpa followed the waiter, as did we. We arrived at the booth, and Grandpa and Wes sat down on one side. I sat down on the other side, and Gwen slid in next to me. Kai sat down next to Gwen, and the waiter asked what we wanted to drink.

"I'll have coffee," Grandpa Max said. "kids?"

I thought for a moment.

"Orange Juice for me!" Gwen said.

No surprise there, I thought.

"I'll take what she's having." Kai said.

"Chocolate milk." I said.

"Coffee, please." Wes said.

The waiter nodded, writing our orders down, and then left us.

"So," Wes said looking at me. "What have you been doing since we last saw each other, Ben?"

I thought about it.

"Well," I said. "A couple days ago, Gwen and I got sucked into one of my video games."

"I remember that." Grandpa Max remarked. "How I used that powder stuff to reveal Ishiyama as an imposter."

Kai stared at us, confused.

"What are you guys talking about?"

I looked at her.

"You wouldn't understand." I said. "Sumo Slammer stuff."

Gwen elbowed me in the rib.

"Er- I mean, it's just stuff about a video game that Grandpa, Gwen and I played together." I said.

Gwen smiled in approval of what she had caused.

"Oh." Kai said.

I yawned, and stretched my arms.

"Ew!" Gwen said, holding her nose.

"What?" I asked.

"Don't you know what deodorant is for?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said, retracting my arms. "I just don't use it."

Kai looked at me in disgust.

"You are sooo gross!"

I rolled my eyes.

"So, you guys hunted down a Yeti?" I asked, recalling something I had heard back in the desert.

"Indeed." Wes said. "Back in the good old days with your grandfather."

I yawned again.

"Two words Ben," Gwen said. "Breath mints."

I ignored her. I was still thinking how wrong it was for us to make out in the RV, but it just felt so good.

"Listen," I said, looking at both of them. "I need to use the restroom. Do you mind?"

Kai smiled.

"Not at all. Do you?" she asked.

Gwen elbowed her in the ribs. Kai must have taken that as a warning, because she slid out of the booth, followed by Gwen. I slid out of the booth, and tried not to run to the bathroom. Once I got to the hallway that led to the restrooms, I ran inside the men's room, and hunched over the sink.

"What are you doing, Ben?" I asked myself, looking in the mirror. "This is sooo wrong! You can't be falling in love with Gwen! I mean, she's your cousin!"

I looked at myself in the mirror, noticing that I was turning green.

"What's the matter, Ben?" a familiar voice said. "You look like you're gonna be sick!"

I whirled around to see the last person I expected to see this morning.

"Kevin!" I said, activating the Omnitrix.

"Don't waste your Omnitrix's energy, Benji." he said, walking over to me. "I'm not here to fight you."

I looked at him, suspiciously.

"Oh, yeah?" I said. "Then what are you here for?"

Kevin put his hand on the Omnitrix, and made the ring go back down.

"Listen, Ben," he said, taking his hand off of the Omnitrix. "I came here to give you a warning. As you can see, I'm out of the Null Void and back to normal."

I glared at him.

"Yeah," I said, putting my arm down. "So what?"

Kevin laughed.

"So nothing, Benji." he said. "Vilgax isn't the only alien or human out there who wants to harm you and your family."

I raised my Omnitrix arm again.

"Don't bother, Ben." he said. "Like I said, heed this warning."

And with that he walked out of the restroom.

"Okay," I said. "What just happened?"

I walked out of the restroom and was stopped by Gwen.

"Ben," she said, pecking my lips.

"Are you crazy, Gwen?" I asked, gently pushing her away. "Someone might see!"

She narrowed her eyes.

"Ben," she said, taking my hand in hers. "No one else here knows that we're cousins!"

"Well what if Grandpa or Wes sees us?"

Gwen sighed.

"Good point."

I yanked her towards the end of the hallway.

"Come on, we have to go!"

Gwen stayed where she was.

"Why?" she asked. "We haven't even eaten yet."

I pulled her towards the end of the hallway once more.

"Gwen, we have to go. I saw Kevin in the restroom."

She started laughing, feeling my forehead.

"Are you sure you didn't see your reflection funny?" I glared at her.

"Gwen, I'm serious!"

"We're still going to eat, though," she said, pulling me out of the hall.

"Whatever." I grunted, as she let go of my hand.

We walked back to the booth, and Kai got up to let us sit down. I slid back in, and Gwen sat down next to me. I grabbed my glass of chocolate milk, and took a drink of it. I guess the drinks came while I was in the restroom talking to Kevin.

"Are you okay, Ben?" Grandpa asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I looked up at him, and a chill went down my spine.

"Loser. Loser." I heard a voice whisper.

I turned around but didn't see anything. I turned back around to face Grandpa. I felt something touch my left hand, and I looked down at my hand. Gwen was holding my hand. I looked at her, her emerald eyes sparkling. Her eyes told me, it's okay. I looked back at Grandpa.

"Everything's fine, Grandpa." I said, as I tightened my grip on Gwen's hand, not wanting to hurt her though.

"Good." he said, as the waiter came back to take our order.

I kinda tuned them out until it was my turn to order.

"Uh," I said, looking at the waiter. "I'll take the usual."

The waiter raised his eyebrow.

"Big talk for a kid such as yourself." he said, as he wrote down the order.

He walked away, and Gwen and I continued to hold hands under the table. All of a sudden, I felt a feeling I had never felt before. I felt what I now call love. Or at least I think that's what it was. I felt as if I never wanted to let go of Gwen's hand. That I wanted to stay like this, forever.

"You all right Ben?" Wes asked me.

His question snapped me back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

I took another drink of the chocolate milk.

"Grandpa, would you believe me if I told you I saw Kevin in the restroom?" I nervously asked.

He spewed his coffee all over Kai's face and started coughing. I started laughing uncontrollably.

"Wow!" I said, wiping tears from my eyes. "That was awesome!"

Kai looked at me angrily. "Glad I could make your day, Ben." she grunted.

"What did you just say?" Grandpa asked.

"Trust me Grandpa," Gwen said, obviously defending me. "He's not running a fever or anything. I checked."

Grandpa Max raised an eyebrow.

"Lower the suspicion a bit, Gwen." I hissed softly, so Grandpa and Wes wouldn't hear me.

"You saw Kevin?" Grandpa asked.

I nodded.

"If he had tried to attack me, I wouldn't be here right now." I said.

"Then what did he do?" Grandpa asked.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Kai said.

We all looked at her.

"What's going on here? Who's Kevin?"

"Kevin Levin." I said, looking over at her. "Human energy sponge. Attempted to absorb the watch's energy, and ended up mutating his entire body."

I looked at Gwen.

"You summed that up pretty well, Ben." she said.

"Thanks." I said in a gruff tone.

Her emerald eyes filled up with confusion. Then they resolved, and she realized I was trying to cover us.

"Well, Ben?" Grandpa Max asked.

"Oh, right!" I said, refocusing my gaze on him.

"He gave me a warning."

Grandpa Max raised his eyebrow again.

"What kind of a warning, Ben?" he asked.

"He said that Vilgax wasn't the only alien or human out there who wants to harm me and my family." I said. "Then he just walked out."

Grandpa reached out to feel my forehead, and Gwen and I freaked out. Well, not physically. We quickly let go of each other's hands. The back of Grandpa's hand touched my forehead and he frowned.

"No fever." he said. "He's telling the truth."

I shook my head, and flapped my hands around.

"Who said I wasn't telling the truth?!" I said, angrily.

Gwen took my hand in hers.

"Take it easy, Doofus." she said, letting go of my hand.

Gwen took a drink of her orange juice, and I looked out the window. My eyes widened, as I thought I saw something. I rubbed my eyes, and opened them again.

"Must of been a trick of the light." I said, under my breath.

I grabbed my glass of chocolate milk, and starting guzzling it down.

"You should really try working on your diet." Gwen said.

I turned to her.

"Excuse me?" I asked, chocolate milk dripping down my chin and onto the seat.

"Your diet." Gwen said, grabbing my napkin. "It stinks."

I laughed.

"You worry about your body, I'll worry about mine, okay?" I said.

Gwen wiped the chocolate milk off my chin, and I pushed her hand away.

"Why are you helping me?!" I said. "What gives?"

Wes reached over and grabbed my shoulder.

"Ben," he said. "Be nicer to your cousin."

I glared at him.

"Why should I?" I asked, taking my napkin from her and putting back on my side of the table. "She isn't nice to me."

Wes raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" he asked, tilting his head. "She seems plenty nice to you."

I looked over at Gwen, who was blushing a deep shade of red.

"I only look out for him, because if he doesn't change his ways, he'll end up growing up to be alone, and a jerk!" she protested.

"Your meals, guests."

We all turned, to see the waiter standing there, with a big tray with our food on it.

"Oh," Grandpa Max said. "Thank you."

The waiter handed out our plates and when I got handed my plate, it was a big meal.

"Big talk for a kid like you." Gwen said, mockingly.

On my plate was some ham, pancakes, eggs, sausage, and bacon. And hashbrowns. Don't forget the hashbrowns.

"Well," I said, picking up my fork. "Better dig in."

I cut up a piece of ham, and was about to put in my mouth, when there was an explosion outside.

"I guess I never get a break." I sighed, putting my fork down and activated the Omnitrix.

I turned the Omnitrix to Upgrade, and slammed down on it.

"Let's just get this over with!" I said, breaking through the window.

I ran over to the source of the explosion, and saw middle aged man riding a giant frog.

"Animo." I groaned. "Well, at least this guy's easy."

The frog hopped over to me, and Dr. Animo looked down at me.

"Ah, Tennyson!" he said, cracking his knuckles and activating his wajta-ma-call-it-and-mutate machine. "I thought I'd find you here!"

I dodged out of the way of beam, and turned into a stream of Upgrade goop.

I jumped up and took control of his mutation device, and made it fall apart.

"Why is it always easy?" I asked myself.

I transformed back into normal Upgrade.

XLR8, I thought.

I turned into XLR8, and spun around Dr. Animo, making a tornado around him. He spun around on his frog after I stopped spinning, until he fell of his frog, passed out.

Ben, I thought. Back to breakfast.

I glared at the passed out Dr. Animo, and kicked him for ruining my breakfast. I walked back over to the broken window, and Grandpa and Gwen helped me back in.

"That was fast." Gwen replied, after I had sat back down and started eating.

"Dr. Freako almost ruined my-, I mean, our breakfast." I grunted, my mouth full of ham.

"Well, I can say you're learning Ben." Grandpa Max said proudly. "Maybe you're finally taking the Omnitrix seriously."

I groaned and continued eating.

Later That Day

"Hey, Ben."

I looked up from my handheld Sumo Slammers game to see Gwen standing in front of my cot, smiling.

"Oh," I said, going back to my game. "Hi, Gwen."

I continued playing without noticing Gwen.

"You know I'm here right?" she asked.

"Yeah, so. What's your point?" I asked.

"Why play your video game when you could be kissing a girl?" she asked.

"Try being a reject from a crush," I said, still playing. "I don't count."

Gwen stepped forward and took my game from my hands and sat it on the covers.

"You do to me, Doofus." she said, grabbing me and kissing me.

I was taken back from the kiss, but accepted it nonetheless. We continued to make for thirty seconds, and finally pulled apart.

"Wow, you are such a good kisser." Gwen whispered, smiling.

"Listen Gwen," I said, taking her hands. "I've been thinking about how weird our relationship is, with us being cousins and all."

Gwen looked at me.

"Ben, it's not really wrong for us to be together." she said, rubbing my cheek. "There are states out there that accept cousinal marriage."

I sighed.

"Yes," I said. "I know. But that's not what I'm getting at."

Gwen looked confused.

"Then what are you getting at?" she asked.

"Gwen," I said, tightening my grip on her hands. "Our relationship is wrong on so many levels. What if Grandpa or our parents caught us?"

She looked even more confused, and a few tears were forming in her eyes.

"What are you saying Ben?" she asked, beginning to cry a little bit.

"I can't do this Gwen," I said. "I just can't do this."

"Y-You don't want to be with me?" she asked, starting to cry.

"No, Gwen!" I said. "I really do. But since we're cousins, it's to weird for me to handle. I'm sorry."

Gwen continued to cry.

"I promise that I will always be here for you," I whispered, flicking a strand of her fiery red hair out of her eyes. "I promise I will always be your friend."

She looked up at me, sniffling.

"Only a friend?" she asked.

"I can't give you anything more than that." I said, pulling her closer and hugging her tight.

After ten or fifteen seconds of hugging her, I let go and stood up. I walked through the curtains, and out of the RV, not sure what was next.

A/N: So, that's it. This isn't the end. Even if it looks like it. In fact, this is just the beginning... In the next chapter, Ben will return home. Stay tuned.