A/N: Based on the episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?". For the record, this episode name just sounds creepy.
Alright, as you can very well guess since Verdona shows up, this is the chapter where Ben learns he's an Anodite. And it won't be a situation as simple as, "He knows he's an Anodite, so he can suddenly use his mana powers." No. I have something planned for that. Let's hop in!
"How are your hands?" Gwen asked.
"Stinging less, so I guess better," Ben said, rubbing the bandages on his knuckles.
"I get you were upset and all, but punching a tree?" Kevin questioned.
"It's better than doing something dumber, like... doing something you'd do," Ben said.
"I resent that," Kevin said with an eye roll. Mostly because he knew his method would work. "Come on Tennyson. Let's go a few rounds."
"Not in the mood," Ben said, staring at the lake.
"Oh, come on. There's no one out here, and you'll excuse me if we don't want you to um... how did Gwen put it? 'Do something stupid?'" Kevin said with obvious quotations.
The girl in question turned and glared at him, but the older teen wasn't affected by her glare this time. The only stupid thing about Ben going after some criminals to let off some steam would be anyone stupid enough to be doing anything wrong while he was upset.
"That's not why I suggested we come here. I was hoping it'd help us think about the good times rather than the bad," Ben said firmly. Kevin looked at Gwen, who was done glaring at him, and back to looking at the lake dejectedly. Honestly, he preferred the first option.
"Not doing a good job," he said, making a flash of anger cross Ben's face. But he stopped himself from showing it and settled for elbowing Kevin in the gut.
"Ow!" he complained before trying to get Ben back with a punch to the arm. But the male Tennyson was already out of range by the time he pulled his hand back. "Get back here!"
"You deserved that," Ben told him easily.
"You sure you don't want to fight?" Kevin asked with a raised brow. "Sure seems like you do."
"Screw it. Let's go," Ben said before dialing the Omnitrix and transforming. "Spidermonkey!"
"That's it?" Kevin questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Size doesn't matter. I'm sure it's something you tell yourself quite often," Spidermonkey said with a smirk.
"Oh, I'm definitely going to pound you in the dirt now," Kevin shot back, absorbing the ground underneath him.
He then jumped at Ben, who flipped back to dodge the punch. He tiptoed at the edge of the lake, gesturing for Kevin to come get him. The Osmosian was about to oblige when he felt something hold him back. He looked behind him, and saw Gwen was holding him back with a pink tendril.
"What's the deal Gwen? Let me go!" Kevin said, trying to wiggle out of her grip.
"No. You two are not fighting. Not here, and not now," Gwen said firmly.
"It's not like either of us are going to get hurt," Kevin said.
"Not the point. This is..." Gwen paused for a moment for continuing. "...was grandpa's fishing spot, and you two are not going to fight here."
Spidermonkey sighed before hitting the dial on his chest, transforming back into his human form. Kevin also let the concrete drop off his body before jumping into the lake with a large splash.
"I hate it. That he had to die," Ben said, sitting down next to Gwen.
"Me too. Only problem is I can't get over it by hitting stuff," she said, skipping a rock across the lake.
"You should try it sometime. It's good for the soul," Kevin said with a smile once he surfaced. Gwen rolled her eyes, but smiled a little at the statement.
"I just wish..." Ben stopped what he was saying when he saw someone across the lake. "Who's that?"
Gwen and Kevin looked up to see a woman in a dark blue robe walking over to a tree. In her hand was some sort of flower, but it was unlike any other flower they had seen. Both cousins tilted their head at the flower with a similar inquisitive look in their eyes. There was something strange about it that they couldn't rightfully place.
"Have you ever seen a flower like that, Ben?" Gwen asked.
"If you don't know, I definitely don't. I don't make it a habit to study flowers," Ben said, his eyes still on the flower.
"Hey! You in the cloak!" Kevin exclaimed. He definitely didn't have problems calling her out where as both cousins seemed content to watch from a distance.
The three of them rushed over to her when she turned her head, and whoever the person was simply chuckled before moving behind a tree and disappearing in a flash of light. When they moved behind the tree, she was nowhere to be found.
"She just disappeared," Ben said before picking up the flower she left behind. It was one of many left at the tree's base.
"What was she doing?" Gwen asked before examining the carving on the wall. "'Max + Verdona.' Who's Verdona?"
"No idea. Grandpa never mentioned her," Ben said, turning the flower over in his hands.
"Let me see that," Gwen said when she saw him examining the flower. "I should be able to track her with it."
"I don't think you will," Ben said, making the girl frown.
"Why not? I've gotten good at tracking," Gwen told him.
"Because I think this thing's made of energy," Ben said, passing her the flower. Gwen grabbed it, and similar to when Ben put a hand on her shoulder, she could feel the energy passing through it. It definitely explained the strange feeling she got when looking at it.
"You're right," she said as she rotated the flower in her hands.
"How could you tell?" Kevin asked, looking at Ben.
"Just a feeling," he said evasively. He couldn't exactly say that he could feel something flowing in his veins that wasn't blood without sounding crazy. Then again, maybe he was already a little crazy.
"You could feel it, couldn't you?" Gwen questioned, seemingly reading his mind.
"Um..." Ben trailed slowly.
"That answers my question," Gwen said, her gaze still on the flower. A thoughtful look crossed the girl's face as she started muttering to herself. "He hasn't shown any indication, but maybe... just maybe..."
"Ok, I'm lost. What the hell are you talking about?" Kevin asked in a confused tone.
"I think Ben has some extent of my powers," Gwen said, making her cousin's eyes widen.
"There's... you think?" Ben asked, not even going to bother to try and disagree. There were too many weird sensations that happened when he got near energy for that not to be a possibility.
"I know so. The bolt of energy when you shook Morningstar's hand. The fact that you can feel the energy in the flower. Not to mention whenever we touch, my powers flare up. And you probably feel something you don't understand yet," Gwen said.
"I feel it, but I can't actually do anything," Ben reminded her.
"That we've seen so far. Remember, I probably never would've bothered with magic if Charmcaster never showed up. Not to mention that you've always had the watch. What reason would you have to do magic?" Gwen asked.
"So there's a chance you've got Gwen's powers and the watch?" Kevin asked.
"There's a chance, yeah," Ben said.
"And you would say your powers are made of energy, right?" Kevin asked, looking at Gwen.
"Yeah. Where are you going with this, Kevin?" the girl asked.
"Guess I have to spell it out. You said the flowers that woman was leaving were made out of energy. The fact that she's leaving them here definitely means she knew your grandpa. I'm thinking she might be your grandma," Kevin deduced, making both cousins' eyes widen.
"Our grandma's got energy powers?" Ben asked. "Wow, grandpa certainly knew how to pick em."
"Wonder where she's been all this time," Gwen said, looking down at the flowers.
"Let's find out," Ben said.
"Hold on. You're not suggesting we wait for her to come back?" Kevin questioned in disbelief.
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Ben said.
"You can't be serious," Kevin said. His only response was a smirk.
"You were absolutely serious," Kevin said flatly.
"Of course I was," Ben said while playing with the button for the door lock. Kevin looked at him and glared, but Ben smirked without even looking at him and kept doing it.
"Cut it out Tennyson!" Kevin told him in an annoyed tone.
"What do you mean?" Ben asked, still smirking.
"Stop it, Ben," Gwen told him, albeit in a far nicer tone.
"You can't act like you aren't bored out of your mind either," Ben told her, resting his hand on his cheek.
"Which is exactly why I'm going to get some air while trying to find a bathroom," Gwen told him.
"Lots of trees around," Kevin said with a smirk.
"Yes, because squatting over a bush and catching poison ivy on my butt is high on my list of things to do," Gwen said sarcastically.
"Just trying to be helpful," Kevin said, still smirking. Ben rolled his eyes and continued to stare out of the window before Gwen got out of the car.
"There was a gas station a few miles back. I'll go there," Gwen said.
"We'll keep watch," Ben said, still staring out of the window.
"How about one of us comes with you?" Kevin asked.
"No. Keep watch. I'll be back," Gwen said before closing the door and walking off.
"Knew she was going to say that," Ben said, his mind going back to the possibly of having energy powers. From what he knew, his father or mother didn't have any powers like these. And they definitely had to come from somewhere.
"Do I look like I'm playing Tennyson?" Kevin suddenly said, and Ben looked back over to see Kevin glaring at him. This time, he didn't even notice that he was tapping the car lock.
"Ok, that time I didn't even notice. I swear," Ben told him, raising his hands in surrender.
"Thinking about your grandmother?" Kevin asked, making him nod. "Figures."
"It's weird thinking I might have Gwen's powers. That's kinda always been her thing, you know?" Ben said, still staring out of the window.
"Most alien powers are commonly passed down to their kids. That kid Alan's a great example of that. But from what I've seen, your parents don't have anything like that," Kevin said.
"Must've skipped a generation. You have any idea what kind of powers these are?" Ben asked.
"Not really. There are tons of aliens that deal with energy, but I'm not really familiar with the kind Gwen uses," Kevin said before ticking off using his fingers. "Conductoids have electricity based powers, so that's out. Osmosians absorb energy, not generate it. I don't know. I'm striking a blank."
"Damn," Ben said, leaning back in his seat.
"You'll get your answers soon enough Tennyson. As soon as..." Kevin cut himself off when he saw the hooded woman return to the same tree. "Right on time."
"Then let's talk to her," Ben said before stepping out of the car.
When they got close, both boys could see that she was making a flower at the base of the tree just by holding her hands over it. She only turned around when they got close, but something told Ben that she knew they were there a long time ago.
"Um... hey," the teenager said awkwardly, suddenly aware that he hadn't actually thought this out.
"Are you related to this guy or not?" Kevin asked bluntly, gesturing to a groaning Ben. He should've known that Kevin would throw any and all subtlety out of the window.
"Kevin!" Ben said with a glare before turning back to his grandmother with an unsure look on his face. "Um... Grandma Verdona?"
Those last two words seemed to elicit a reaction from her, given that she immediately dropped her hood while looking directly at Ben with eyes that were extremely sharp for someone her age. And the smirk that donned her face was definitely something that belonged more on a mischievous young adult rather than an old woman.
"Grandma, huh? So you must be Max's grandson. Ben, if my memory serves," Verdona said, straightening her back as she walked closer to him. "What are you doing out so late? Isn't this a school night?"
"Well, no, but that's not the point. I had something I wanted to ask you," Ben said.
"Since the last time I saw you was almost a decade and a half ago, I suppose you can ask me something," Verdona said with a smile still on her face. Contrary to the wrinkles and graying hair, the woman seemed so young in the way she acted.
"Except for that part where she said she was a decade and a half too late," he thought before speaking aloud. "You were making those flowers with energy. Is any part of that... hereditary?"
There was an immediate reaction, and it made Verdona go from playfully amused to happy. Suddenly she was putting her hands on Ben's shoulders and fussing over him as if he were an extremely favored child.
"Yes, it is! It's rare in your case, but absolutely possible! You must show me something!" Verdona said in an excited tone.
"That's the thing. From what I know so far, all I've been able to do is detect energy. Not use it," Ben said hesitantly, making Verdona smile mischievously. The smile scared him a little.
"Oh, really? If that is true, then you'll feel this," the older woman said, grabbing his cheeks and placing a kiss on his forehead.
The reaction was immediate. Ben felt the energy all right, but it paled in comparison to the warm, casual flow he felt when he and Gwen made contact. It was like being plugged to an electric conduit with all the levers slammed upward. And the sensation left him on the floor, feeling the best he's ever been, but incoherent and panting as if he ran a mile.
"What did you do to him?" Kevin asked with narrowed eyes, now suspicious of the woman. It didn't even matter if she was family. That was certainly not normal.
"Relax young man. He's fine. I only passed a large amount of energy through him, and if he were pure Anodite, it would only give a feeling of great elation. But for Anodites that are residing in a body that is not theirs, it is a sensation that surpasses anything else a human could feel. Some create alternate bodies solely for that reason," Verdona explained, looking at Ben with an amused expression on her face. "The first reaction is always the most interesting."
"He looks like he can't even get up," Kevin said, gesturing to the still kneeling Ben.
"That's because every nerve in his body is overloaded with a large amount of energy. It not only increases an Anodite's power, but every nerve that body feels as if it's been wired to send signals of pleasure to the brain.. At least, that is how it works for humans," Verdona explained.
"I... Verdona... Kevin... Gwen... she..." Ben stammered, his mind scrambled.
"He'll be like that for a few moments," Verdona said before clapping her hands together cheerfully. "I can't believe this. After all these years, there truly is someone else in my family who possess The Spark."
"Yeah, there is. So he's something called an Anodite?" Kevin asked. He wasn't sure if he should mention Gwen to this woman yet.
"He is. There is one thing that confuses me. He mentioned not being able to use his abilities. You do not inherit a portion of an Anodite's powers. It is either all of nothing. It is why most Anodites do not reproduce through the methods of other aliens. I did after all, birth two boys the human way," Verdona explained in a disappointed tone. She never did like the fact that she never was able to raise any Anodite children of her own.
"Well, I've never seen him use any powers that didn't involve the watch," Kevin said, pointing at the object.
"Ah. The Omnitrix. The device capable of transforming any species into other aliens," Verdona said, well aware what it did. "It can't transform anyone into an Anodite, of course."
"It can't make Anodites?" Ben asked, managing to regain his composure. And with that, he realized that the injuries on his knuckles were completely gone.
"Of course not. Anodites do not have pure DNA, so your watch cannot replicate their powers or appearance," Verdona said before putting her hands on Ben's shoulders. "Of course, that is a moot point for you kiddo. You can come with me and master your abilities."
"Whoa, whoa," Ben said, backing up. "I'm not even sure if..."
"You are. There are no partial Anodites, Benjamin. And it's obvious your time on this planet has prevented you from realizing your true power," Verdona said, sounding annoyed at that fact. "It would be a waste if you did not learn who you are and where you come from. The amazing things you are capable of."
"I see she finally showed up," Gwen said, coming up from behind Kevin.
"Yeah, and it's just creating more questions," Kevin said.
"What happened?" Gwen asked, looking over at Verdona. Recognition flashed in the older woman's eyes, and Gwen was immediately wary.
"You must be Benjamin's sister, correct?" the older Anodite asked.
"Cousin," Gwen corrected before noticing how bright Ben's face was. She would've initially thought he was embarrassed, but something in his eyes quelled that theory. It was a mix of apprehension and intrigue. Plus it kinda looked like he was literally glowing.
"Tell me, are you an Anodite like him?" Verdona asked, a small smile playing on her lips at the prospect.
"Um... Anodite?" Gwen asked.
"Neither of you know what an Anodite is?" Verdona asked, looking between Ben and Gwen. Both cousins shook their heads. "Guess I've never been mentioned then. Kids, Anodites are beings of energy. We can do things like this."
Verdona swept her hand in a horizontal motion towards a tree, and an sharp wave of mana flew towards it and cut it down like it was made of tissue paper. Then immediately reversed the damage as if it never happened. Gwen's hand shined a bright pink, and Verdona's smile grew when she saw it.
"You are. The both of you are Anodites," she said, looking at Ben and Gwen like she was the proudest grandmother ever. "I'll restrain myself for now. We'll talk again soon."
Verdona's eyes shined a bright pink before she disappeared in a flash of light. Ben and Gwen looked at each other, both equally unsure as to what their reactions should be.
"She said you were an Anodite? Like me?" Gwen asked.
"Apparently. She also there are no partial Anodites," Ben said, trying to at least make his hand glow. But nothing happened. "Then why can't I..."
"It's something that comes naturally," Gwen told him. "I don't think you can force it."
"Something still should've happened before. It did for you. But not for me," Ben said, looking at his hands. He almost seemed frustrated.
"Is it because of the watch?" Kevin asked.
"No. I doubt it's because of that. Something tells me a problem would've popped up a long time ago if it did," Ben said, looking at the Omnitrix.
"What makes you so sure?" Kevin asked.
"I don't really know. It's just a feeling. My energy senses going haywire. Whatever you want to call it," Ben said, waving a dismissive hand.
"I need to tell my parents about this," Gwen suddenly said. Ben and Kevin turned to look Gwen with a surprised expression on her face, not expecting such an out of the blue statement.
"What? Why?" they asked at the same time.
"Grandma Verdona said we were going to see each other soon. And something tells me that's going to be sooner rather than later. Besides, if our dads were Verdona's sons, wouldn't they know about her powers?" Gwen said rhetorically. "Not to mention if we go to your parents about this, Aunt Sandra would have a stroke."
"Good point," Ben admitted, shuddering at the thought. His mom would go crazier than a rabid dog.
Gwen's prediction was entirely too accurate. Her father somehow knew Verdona was watching, and that pushed all of them into the living room. Including Ben's parents.
"What the..." Sandra started before laying eyes on Verdona, her eyes narrowing. "Verdona."
"Oh boy," Ben said with a sigh, causing his mother to quickly look at him. Now she looked worried.
"Oh, calm down over there darling. I can guarantee you that your son's dealt with things far worse than me," Verdona said in an amused tone before looking at a very unamused Natalie Tennyson. "Tea, dear. And something sweet for the kids."
"We're not staying here for this," Sandra said, immediately grabbing her husband's wrist and looking to Ben. "Come on Ben. Let's go."
"I think it would be a good idea for you all to stay here, especially Ben. He needs to learn about his heritage," Verdona said. Her voice was even, but it took all the wind out of Sandra.
Ben looked to his grandmother quickly, wondering if telling his mom was a wise option. Verdona simply gave the teenager a relaxed smile, pulling her hood down as she took a seat on the couch. Frank, Carl, and Natalie all looked at Ben with shock. The stares made Ben want to disappear.
"Come on," Gwen said, putting a hand on his arm and guiding him down to the couch. "I can tell you want to run out of here."
"Mostly to get away from all the looks," Ben whispered.
"What do you mean 'his heritage?' He's as normal as you or me," Sandra said while glaring at Verdona.
All three teenagers in the room looked away awkwardly. If Ben's life was normal, then the watch on his wrist was nothing more than an old, useless gift shop antique. No more than the glowing on Gwen's hands was a trick with a light pen.
"Not so much anymore. Should I show them?" Verdona asked with a smirk.
"No. Not in front of them," he said, shaking his head. Verdona let out a laugh of amusement at his reaction, and his parents looked at Verdona suspiciously before looking back at him.
"Ben... what did she do to you?" Sandra asked, her eyes going back to Verdona. If the woman's eyes were weapons, Verdona would be dead a thousand times over. In all different, painful ways.
"Nothing! Well, nothing bad. Quite the contrary actually," Ben assured his mother.
"It's something only an Anodite can experience. Believe me, if he wasn't an Anodite, it would have done nothing," Verdona said simply.
"Ben? Please tell me this woman is lying," Sandra said, looking at her son almost imploringly.
"Son..." Carl trailed, and Ben only shook his head.
"She's not lying," he said. Sandra looked as if she was told she only had six hours to live.
"So I suggest you take a seat. There will be some news that you will want to hear," Verdona said simply.
Sandra still looked against doing anything Verdona suggested, but her husband put a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down.
"We should at least find out what's going on," Carl told her, hoping to reason with his wife. She eventually sat, but it was clear she was doing it under protest.
It was also clear she wanted to keep Verdona away from Ben, so she made Kevin move so she could hold him close.
Ben looked to Gwen almost desperately, who struggled to hold back a laugh along with Kevin. Gwen knew he hated moments like this when he was Aunt Sandra's 'little baby boy' instead of mature teenager Ben 10. At least, that was the way he had put it.
Natalie had finished Verdona's request, which resulted in cookies being served with tea. Ben eagerly went for one, partially just to get out of his mother's grasp, but Gwen beat him to one just for the right to smirk at him. Ben smirked right back before taking a bite out of her cookie. Gwen looked annoyed, but didn't do anything aside from elbowing him in the stomach.
Natalie expected Gwen to give Ben the cookie, because she knew that was what her nephew was aiming for, but she was surprised when her daughter just took a bite out of the cookie without a flinch. That was it. Not a word from her.
"Been a while mom," Frank suddenly said, deciding to get straight to the point.
"I suppose. In human time," Verdona said with a gentle smile before looking to Ben and Gwen. "Just like me, the two of you are Anodites. Beings of pure energy."
"Yeah, and it's starting to get less surprising the more I hear it," Ben said before grabbing a cookie of his own. Before he could continue, Gwen returned the favor and stole a bite out of his cookie.
Kevin saw the interaction unfold from the end of the couch, and he was confused when he saw Ben take a bite out of as if nothing happened. All of the adults looked at the interaction strangely.
"Trust us, there are worse things to eat than an already bitten cookie," Gwen said, already knowing what the looks were about.
"Cafeteria food?" Frank asked.
"Grandpa's cooking," Gwen said with a small, sad smile. Verdona smiled fondly while Frank and Carl shared a chuckle and knowing look.
"Yeah, I suppose that's true. Still, try and eat your own food," Frank said with a look to both cousins.
"Promise," both cousins said at the same time. Each parent shared a chuckle at the exchange. They were all aware that Ben and Gwen actually got along now, but they still never ceased to entertain.
"Back to what we were talking about," Ben said, his face suddenly becoming serious. Then he turned to his grandmother. "The problem is that I've never seen any sign that I've ever been an Anodite. The most I've been able to do is feel energy when it's in someone or something. Nothing I've seen Gwen do."
That was something that caught Natalie's attention. Seen Gwen do? That meant that Gwen also had these powers Verdona brought up, but it also meant she had shown Ben her powers, but not her own parents. She didn't really know how to take that.
"So there's a chance you might not be like you grandmother?" Sandra asked, making both Gwen and Ben frown. Being an Anodite wasn't a bad thing. At least for her to sound that hopeful. Verdona seemed alright, albeit a little reckless.
"There have never been any partial Anodites dear. Must I say it again?" Verdona said, making Sandra glare at the woman. She was glad she only interacted with the woman once before today, because the Anodite was testing her patience. She was a grown woman, and here she was being treated like she was a child.
"So how is it nothing has happened?" Ben asked, looking at his hands.
"I have an idea. It's that watch of yours," Verdona said, making Ben dart his eyes towards his parents quickly. Both of whom were staring at the Omnitrix.
"It's like that one watch you got when you went on summer vacation with your grandpa. But... it's slimmer," Carl said, looking at the watch closely.
"It's so much more than a mere watch. But my point isn't about the watch. It's about what it means to Benjamin," Verdona said.
"What do you mean?" Ben asked, the cookie in his hand practically forgotten.
"Think of it as the moon during an eclipse," Verdona told him.
"One thing blocking out another?" Kevin questioned.
"That can't be right," Gwen said with a shake of the head.
"It's not a physical change, but a mental one. Ever since he got it, he's likely come to see it as his source of strength - his real power. Meanwhile, Gwendolyn has always relied on her natural abilities. Which is what an Anodite should always do. Her powers came to her naturally that way. Yours did not, and as a result, your mindset stunted your capabilities," Verdona explained. "It's uncommon among most Anodites, but not unheard of. The only way to fix that is to find a way for you to tap into the mana that exists within you."
"Mana?" Ben asked.
"Life energy. It is also the very substance of magic itself, which opens up all avenues of magic that Anodites can use better than most sorcerers. Rarely has a sorcerer ever been more talented than magically trained Anodites," Verdona explained before smiling. "But the problem won't be much of a problem soon enough. Once you are able to tap into your mana and get the proper training you need, your mental block will disappear as if it never existed."
Ben stared down at the cookie in his hand, thinking over his grandmother's words. Often, he wondered if there was anything special about him besides the Omnitrix. And from what his Verdona was telling him, there was. He and Gwen were part of the same alien species. Anodites. Aliens who could manipulate mana.
"There is one other thing I'm wondering about," Ben said, holding his watch with one hand. "When I put the Omnitrix back on, I could feel energy travel between me and Gwen. But it didn't happen before I started to wear it again. Do you know what that's about?"
"Hmm..." Verdona trailed before taking a sip from her tea. "Anodites do have various methods to share energy with one another. That I do know. But all of them wouldn't care whether or not you're wearing technology. I can help you figure it out as we help you control your abilities. So, what do you say? The both of you?"
Ben looked at his parents, his mother shifting worried glances between him and Carl. Then he looked to Gwen, who had a small, excited smile on her face.
"I do want to learn more about my powers," Gwen said before looking to Ben with a smile. "And if you really do have the same powers as me, I can help you. I always do."
Ben looked between both Verdona and Gwen, both of whom were sending him an encouraging smile. As if they knew he was doubting his ability to ever be like them. But maybe after enough time, he could be like them. And maybe learning how to control his Anodite side could help him in more ways than just having another way to kick butt.
"Ok. I'm in. Where do we start?" Ben asked, standing to his feet. Verdona walked up to him and grabbed one his hands and one of Gwen's.
"On Anodyne," she said without hesitation, making both cousins reel back in shock. Their parents were just as surprised as they were. "Stop living this hum drum life. Come home with me and join the real party."
"Leave?" Gwen asked, dropping her hand from Verdona's. "This is big."
"Yeah. I'm not sure if..."
"Absolutely not!" Sandra suddenly exclaimed, and she was glaring daggers at Verdona. "You are not taking my boy anywhere."
"How nice of you to provide your opinion. But unfortunately, I wasn't talking to you," Verdona said, hardly sparing Sandra a glance. It only angered the mother even more.
"Grandma Verdona, I'm not sure if I want to go," Ben said, making Sandra smile in relief. "But at the same time, I do want to know more about what it means to be an Anodite. This is a part of me that I know nothing about."
"Do you really need to know? You've always lived as a regular person," Sandra said, shrugging off her husband's hand on her shoulder.
"Yes. I do. I always thought I was a normal guy. In the loosest sense of the word..." Ben added in his head before continuing out loud. "But lately, I've felt like there was something different about me. I don't know what it means to be an Anodite, and I really do want to know. But is it really worth to leave Earth behind just to do that?"
No one in the room had ever heard Ben sounding so unsure about something. He was normally a 'take the world by storm' sort of person. It was less prevalent as he matured, but it was always part of his personality.
"If you need time, that's fine dear," Verdona said gently before turning to Gwen. "How about you, Gwendolyn?"
Gwen looked to Ben, who sat down while looking like something heavy was weighing him down. Her mind was in a similar state of chaos. Then she shifted her gaze over to her parents.
"Mom... dad... what should I do?" Gwen asked.
"I don't know. It's an opportunity I never had," Frank said.
"We always hoped that you would take after my side of the family, but..." Natalie trailed with a grimace in Verdona's direction. "We want you to be happy."
"We won't stand in your way, Gwen," Frank said.
Gwen looked back to Ben and he was staring dead at his mother, his expression resembling stone. It was a real quick change from his indecision, but as quick as the expression came, it was gone.
"I need to think it over too," Gwen said.
"Alright then. Take your time," Verdona said with a nod. Both cousins nodded before Gwen dragged Ben upstairs, Kevin following behind not long after. "The both of them are so serious."
Natalie looked pissed, and Sandra had a similar angry expression on her face. Both husbands and brothers looked at each other, knowing that this wasn't going to go well.
"You're asking for both of our children to go away with you on some faraway planet?" Sandra said through gritted teeth.
"Well, they won't become mature Anodites on this backwater planet," Verdona said in an offhand tone of voice, waving a lazy hand.
"If case you haven't noticed, we do mind when you talk..." Natalie glanced towards the staircase before speaking. "...shit about the planet we were all born on. In case you forgot, your sons were born and raised here. And your grandchildren."
"I'm not saying it's a bad place. No, in fact, many of the things on this planet are fairly amazing. But it is no place for Anodites to live," Verdona said.
"So that's it? We're supposed to pack their things and let you run off to the stars with our children?" Sandra said, her eyes like jade colored fire.
"The decision isn't yours, but if we're going to pretend like it is..." Verdona said, lowering her cup as Sandra gritted her teeth in anger. "...do you expect these children to ignore that part of them? You heard what they said. They want to know about their Anodite abilities more. Especially Benjamin. Now that he knows, it's calling to him. His true side has been lying dormant for far too long. And it's a side you can't tell him anything about."
The second part of her statement made Sandra even more upset. But only because of how true it was. Ben didn't know anything about being an Anodite. Until tonight, he was probably more than certain that he was just a regular person. And because of his grandmother, he was not only aware it existed, but wanted to know more about it.
It still didn't stop her for arguing against the idea.
"This isn't an easy choice," Ben said.
Both him and Gwen went up to the roof to think, their arms on their knees and chins on their arms. Kevin was next to Gwen, and he was at a loss as to what to tell them.
"Nothing I've had to choose compares to this," Gwen said, sounding dejected.
"Well, one way or another, you lose something. If you don't go with her, you lose your chance to master your powers for a while. And if you do go, you leave behind everyone and everything here. Including this team," Kevin said sourly.
"Not to mention the Highbreed. Whatever they're up to, I doubt we'd learn everything there is to know before doing... whatever they're doing," Ben said, blowing out a puff of breath.
"What do you think?" Gwen asked, looking to Kevin.
"Me? I want you around. Both of you. And let's face it, the Earth needs you. I hate the idea of you even thinking about it, but I can see why. I still find the whole thing lame. It was all easier when you thought you just had magic powers and Ben thought the Omnitrix was his only tool for dealing with aliens," Kevin explained with a scowl on his face as he looked at the moon.
"Well, the whole reason we started doing this was to protect people, right? If we leave, it completely defeats that purpose," Gwen said, looking to Ben.
"But we'll..."
"I know," Gwen said, and she sounded extremely upset about it. It was an opportunity that she would probably regret, but until the world wasn't infested with aliens that had malicious intentions towards their race... one of their races, they couldn't leave.
"This was exactly one of the things that lead to me taking off the watch in the first place," Ben thought bitterly.
He was going to hate not knowing anything about being an Anodite, but maybe there would be time for it in the future. When there were no Highbreed and DNAliens walking the planet. But Gwen was right. He had a duty to protect this planet, and he was going to stick to that.
"So what are you going to do?" Kevin asked. Neither cousins said a word. Just looked at each other and nodded in agreement before heading downstairs.
For some reason, there was music playing with a disco ball on the ceiling. Their parents looked like they were about to blow a gasket. Well, Natalie and Sandra at least. Carl and Frank were looking uneasy; obviously hoping the situation didn't spiral out of control.
Verdona however, was the only one who was dancing to the music that was playing. But it didn't take long for her to notice that Ben and Gwen walked back in the room.
"Ah, you're back. Did you decide?" she asked, floating over to them.
"Yeah. We really do want to go, but... we've decided that we're gonna stay," Gwen said. Both Sandra and Natalie looked relieved, and so did Carl and Frank. They weren't showing it, but they had their concerns that they would leave them and everything on Earth behind.
But Verdona was the only one who didn't look relieved. With a snap of the fingers, the disco ball and music disappeared in an instant.
"But neither of you know what you really are. Kids, we belong on Anodyne among our kind," Verdona said, raising her arms as if trying to embrace the sky. "Let me show you."
In a flash of pink light, the old woman that was in front of them was gone. In her place was a dark purple humanoid, a tendril of pink mana flowing down where her hair was supposed to be. The human 'body' she had was discarded to the ground; as if it were nothing more than a cheap Halloween costume.
"See? Just a disguise," Verdona said, her voice sounding younger. It also had a faint echo to it. "This is what it means to be an Anodite."
"We look like... that?" Ben asked, looking at his grandmother with raised brows.
"So that's why she looks so good," Natalie said in a dry tone.
"Mature Anodites are pure energy. We draw life from the mana around us," Verdona said, holding up her hands with a smile.
"Wow. That's just... wow," Ben said in an amazed tone.
"You're just too young to make up your own minds. Let me help you," Verdona said with an expression that made both Gwen and Ben unwillingly take a step back. "I'll destroy your bodies, and free the Anodite inside."
"What?!" everyone except Verdona exclaimed at the same time.
"You're crazy!" Sandra exclaimed. Verdona seemed to have enough of Sandra, and, with a snap of her fingers, put duct tape over her mouth.
"Believe me, you'll both be able to think much more clearly as a result," the elder Anodite promised.
"You cannot be serious," Gwen said with a displeased expression.
"How do you know if you like something if you don't try it?" Verdona asked.
"Yeah, but there's no turning back from body annihilation," Ben said, his eyes narrowing.
"Anodites can make any body they choose, so you can create a human body and permanently wear it. If that's what you want," Verdona said with a smile.
"They said no lady," Kevin said, his eyes narrowing as he stepped forward.
"You're willing to fight me over this?" Verdona asked in an amused tone. "Ok. Then let's fight."
And with an outstretched hand, she blew Kevin out of the window with little effort. Both cousins rushed outside to see if he was hurt, and were glad to see that he looked more windswept than in pain. They all looked to the sky when they heard Verdona giggle.
"Now this is what I call a party," she said, throwing out a blast of energy at the congregated trio. It would've blown them to pieces if it weren't for Gwen's shield.
The girl in question made steps out of energy in order to get to the same level as her grandmother. Gwen tossed energy discs at her grandmother, who batted them away with the tendrils on her head. She didn't even blink while doing it.
"Shouldn't you stay back?" Kevin asked Gwen while Ben climbed out of the ditch.
"Hit the road Kevin," she told him.
"What?" he questioned, making her look down to the ground. "Oh."
He quickly absorbed the ground before ripping rocks out of the ground and tossing them at Verdona. Ben dialed the Omnitrix and slammed on it in the middle of a jump, landing in front of Gwen with a flip.
"Chromastone!" he exclaimed. Verdona started to fly at him, but he easily jumped and met her flight towards him with a knee to the chin.
The blow hardly bothered her, and she grabbed his arms with the energy tendrils on her head. Thankfully, Ben was strong enough to throw her down to the ground even with her tendrils binding him. He landed on top of her while putting a foot on her stomach to pin her down.
"Stop it grandma. I don't want to hurt you," Chromastone said before she flew out from under him. With an outstretched hand, she trapped his entire body with conjured steel restraints. He could hardly move.
"How kind of you. But it will take more than that kiddo," Verdona said before she was interrupted by a large rock to the face followed up by a high jump kick from Gwen. Kevin then moved closer to the kneeling Anodite with a large rock in his hand, but he hesitated when he saw the miserable look on her face.
"Dude, I don't know if I can pound your grandma," he said, looking back at Ben.
"I know how that feels," Chromastone said before Verdona started to rise in the air. Immediately, a pink, mist like substance started to flow out of... well, everything that was living that was around them. It only took Gwen a moment to realize what it was.
"She's drawing mana from the living things around her!" she exclaimed.
"That is not good," Chromastone said, remembering how elated he felt when Verdona shared her energy with him. The high of energy. And if that sensation was equal to the amount of extra power she would get...
"I'm really enjoying this!" Verdona exclaimed. She then used the tendrils on her head to pound Kevin into the ground until nothing but his head was showing.
Chromastone immediately leapt into the air after her, but was quickly hit with a large ball of energized mana that knocked him to the ground hard. It happened so fast, he wasn't prepared to absorb the energy of the blast. So all he felt was the force from the blow, and it hurt.
"Crystalsapeins are troublesome for Anodites. But not impossible to beat," Verdona said before using one tendril to bind Gwen in place.
The elder Anodite then grabbed Ben with the rest of them and leaving him bound in the air, unable to move. Between the steel and Verdona's tendrils holding him, his chances of getting out were near zero.
"If I can just get to the dial..." Chromastone thought, trying to move his hand. But it was pointless. His arms were pinned firmly to his sides.
"One day, you'll learn how to make a new body. Any kind you like," Verdona said softly, and Gwen had enough.
"Listen to me!" she exclaimed, making Verdona let her go after some hesitation. Ben was still in her grip though.
"I'm not going! We're not going," Gwen said angrily, gesturing up at Ben. "We want to go. We would really like to. But there's too much for here. Our friends are here. The only life we've known is here. Not to mention the Earth needs us. There's just no way we can give that up. Not even for learning more about being an Anodite."
"This life can't be that important to you..."
"But it is. And you've lived that life once before. A quiet life, enjoying the simple things," Gwen said.
"I was just a kid then. Trust me. Grown up parties are so much better," Verdona said, clapping her hands together.
"Just admit it, grandma. You miss it. And you miss Max," Gwen said, making Verdona deflate visibly. "That's what brought you here, remember?"
"Max should've been like us. He had a spark of his own. An adventurer, troublemaker. He was a lot like your friend... Curtis," Verdona said, making Kevin immediately look annoyed.
"Kevin," he corrected.
"And if you don't mind, I would appreciate being let down," Chromastone said, still struggling in Verdona's grip.
"One moment Benjamin," Verdona lightly scolded before looking back to Gwen. "You really won't leave willingly, will you?"
"No. I'm sorry Verdona," Gwen said softly.
"I'm sorry too," Verdona said before she wrapped her free tendril around Gwen again. And this time, the hold was tighter.
"Hey!" Gwen exclaimed.
"Gwen!" Kevin exclaimed.
"Ok, the no hurting rule is out of the window," Chromastone thought before his body was surrounded by the multicolored energy that he naturally produced. Then, with a large nova, he was able to blast Verdona's tendrils off of him and break the steel restraints.
"So I see you've finally taken the gloves off," Verdona said. It baffled Ben that she was still finding this a situation to smile about.
"Now I have," Chromastone said seriously.
"Believe me. This way's better," Verdona said before creating a gigantic spear. Ben's eye widened when he saw the spear heading towards him while he was kneeling. He managed to roll out of the way, the weapon narrowly missed him.
Gwen imbued her hands with mana, but two more of Verdona's tendrils kept her hands and feet bound together before she could even move them. She hated how her grandma was powerful enough to do this and still have plenty of free hands and tendrils to handle Ben.
Speaking of which, the wielder of the Omnitrix was rapidly firing energy beams at Verdona to try and keep her off balance. The elder Anodite fluidly flew in random directions to evade them, her flying speed comparable to Jetray's. Gwen was swinging her body in every way possible to try and throw Verdona off, but it was for naught. It was as if the girl was weightless with how easily she was carrying her.
Ben charged another blast as Verdona created another spear out of thin air and tossed it towards him. This time, there was no dodging for either party with the timing. The laser blast Ben fired knocked Verdona out of the sky, both her and Gwen getting hurt from the fall.
Ben, however, was in an even worse condition. The spear she threw at him was like a drill. Powerful enough to get through this alien's rock like skin while pinning him to a tree. The pain made him grit his teeth in a combination of anger and discomfort.
"Ben!" Gwen exclaimed, managing to evade Verdona's tendrils that were stretching out for her. Her hold loosened when Ben knocked her to the ground.
The younger Anodite threw a blast at her grandmother that the older woman easily deflected. Gwen was ready for her launching tendrils, and flipped out of the way of their grasp, backing away by creating steps that granted her some elevation.
"God, this hurts," Chromastone thought, managing to pull the spear out of his stomach. But there was no way he was in a good enough condition to continue fighting. The Omnitrix knew that, and transformed him back to his human form. At least there was no hole in his stomach.
"It's time now," Verdona thought before hitting Gwen with a blast that knocked the younger Anodite off her feet. Despite the shield she raised to defend herself.
Verdona made sure it hurt, but didn't break anything or scar. All she needed was the time it bought her.
Ben was rising to his feet before he was hit with a painless blast. The blast bound him to a tree with energy tendrils; like bolas made out of energy. Verdona floated in front of him, and he knew that he was trapped with no options. She was way too strong.
"Grandma. Please don't do this," Ben pleaded to his grandmother.
"I have to kiddo. Or you'll never know what it means to be you. The real you," Verdona said, and her voice was politely soft. It didn't stop her from raising her hands and charging a powerful ball of energy before throwing it at him, causing Ben's world to go black.
Gwen dusted herself off and looked over to where Ben was, whose body was completely charred and his clothes completely burnt to ash. The young Anodite's eyes widened before looking back at Verdona. The woman actually looked sorry for what she did, but that still didn't stop her from doing it.
"She... she..." Gwen thought before she tightened her fists. A growl came out of her mouth before a powerful mana beam flew from her body knocking Verdona down to the ground with a force the older woman didn't expect.
Gwen's eyes were glowing a bright pink before her regular skin started to disappear, the purple skinned humanoid appearance appearing like it was slowly being stretched over her skin. Now the only distinguishable differences between Gwen and her grandmother was her face and the fact that Verdona was bigger.
"You killed him," Gwen said, floating over to her grandmother. Her hands were glowing ten times brighter than usual, a white hot anger burning in her glowing eyes. The older Anodite was shocked when she laid her eyes on Gwen, unable to believe what she was seeing.
"You... you found a way," Verdona said in a surprised tone. Gwen looked down at herself and noticed that she was no longer human. Or at least in a human body. She was a pure Anodite, and how good it felt did little for her anger.
"Which meant there was another way. Why did you destroy Ben's body then?!" Gwen yelled angrily.
"I... I never knew," Verdona said softly.
This was something she had never seen before. Someone shedding their body to take hold of their Anodite form without help. Millions of generations of Anodites had came to pass, and nothing like this had ever happened. Then again, everyone was willing to shed their old bodies in favor of their true appearance. At least the handful of Anodites that had a body that wasn't their true form.
"Gwen," Ben said from behind her. He sounded slightly different, but Gwen knew it was him.
When she looked over to where his body was, Ben was standing around the ashes of his old body. And only one thing survived: The Omnitrix on his wrist. Still unscathed.
His look was like that of hers, but with a couple of differences. For one, the mana on his head was smaller. It was styled like a boy's haircut, instead of the strand of mana shaped like a ponytail that Gwen and Verdona had.
And instead of looking like he had breasts, he had two sectioned parts on the upper half of his chest that were a reasonable imitation of a male's pecs. Not to mention the mana on his head wasn't pink like theirs was. It was green.
"Mana is not supposed to be green," Verdona thought, her eyes fixated on her grandson's Anodite form.
"Ben? Are you..." Gwen said before floating over to him.
Both cousins held up a hand and grasped the other's while looking at each other. Both of their heads started to grow several tendrils similar to the way Verdona did after she absorbed mana. Their joined hands also glowed a bright pink and green respectively. And there was also a rush of energy, easily dwarfing anything they felt in their human bodies.
"This... this is the power of an Anodite," Ben thought, transfixed by the surge of mana flowing through him. And this time, he could feel it waiting for him to use it.
The parents that were inside the house walked outside when they heard the commotion end. It shocked them to see Gwen and Ben in their Anodite forms, holding hands while looking at each other dead in the face. But despite the hesitancy on their faces, power still radiated from them.
"She did it," Sandra said said in a horrified tone.
"Congratulations. You are both full Anodites," Verdona said, getting to her feet.
Suddenly, the situation changed in an instant with that statement. Both cousins looked towards Verdona, their faces showing identical expressions of anger. And the anger manifested itself into an energy beam was powered by the both of them. Again, Verdona wasn't prepared for it and she wound up hitting the tree behind them hard. But the beam hurt more than the impact itself.
"That's all you have to say? You destroyed my body, and your first word is 'Congratulations?" Ben said, his tone full of disbelief and anger.
"I know. But..." Verdona started, but Ben didn't want to hear it.
"STOP. Right there," he said furiously, his fists clenched. "I lost my body. You completely disregarded what I wanted earlier, and didn't take how I would feel about the matter into account. No, it's grandma's way or the highway."
"I understand..."
"I'm not done. You will listen to me," Ben said, the echo in his voice louder. He was so angry, that the mana on his head was expanding even more. "Look at me! This is not what I wanted! Just because we're all Anodites doesn't mean you can force something on us that we don't want! It's not like we ever met you before today! Obviously your traveling among the stars hasn't taught you basic empathy for the people you're supposed to consider family!"
Verdona reeled back. She didn't expect his words to hurt as badly as they did. She knew she was making a rash decision, but the lives of all Anodites was that of a free spirit. Doing what they chose to do. But at the same time, by doing this, she had betrayed that very belief. Regardless of her intentions, she had made an important decision like this without his consent.
With the way he was glaring a hole through her, Ben looked ready to start another fight with her. One that he was probably more prepared to win. The power flowing through him was the shared anger of two Anodites, given he was still holding Gwen's hand and she was as angry as he was.
But he had a moment of clarity of the situation, and it was like being splashed with freezing cold water. The reality of the situation was that he was an Anodite. He had no human body. No general idea how his powers worked. No control whatsoever. And no matter which way he sliced it, he knew he was going to need help.
Suddenly starting another fight wasn't worth it. Not in the face of the consequences he would pay for if he went through with this.
"I need a moment," Ben said before letting go of Gwen's hand.
Gwen quickly looked at him, surprised at his sudden change in attitude. Ben gave her a look that showed how sorry he was before turning in the other direction. He didn't know how he did it, but every instinct in him wanted to leave. So he floated in the air and flew away.
"Ben!" Gwen exclaimed as he took to the skies, but he was gone and out of sight not long after the word left her lips. That left her to direct her anger at Verdona. "Do you understand what you did to him?"
"I'm sorry," Verdona said with her head bowed. It did little to calm Gwen.
"Just do us both a favor, Verdona. Leave. And never come back. It's sad when the one good thing you can do for your grandkids is to stay the hell away," Gwen snapped before storming away from her grandmother. With one tendril, the young Anodite was able to free Kevin from the hole he was trapped in.
Even though he knew he wasn't a match for Verdona, the Osmosian still wanted to fight her. Cold fury that Kevin hadn't felt in a long time was simmering in his veins, and he wanted to break every bone in the older woman's body. But Gwen put her hand on his arm to make him look in her direction. The girl only shook her head, already knowing what he wanted to do.
After a few moments of resisting, Kevin allowed himself to be steered away while still glaring at Verdona. Only one anger outmatched the kind Kevin was feeling right now. And that said a lot.
"I cannot believe you're not going crazy. If I thought I could take her, I know I would..." Kevin trailed angrily before noticing how worried Gwen looked. Then his face softened. "Are you..."
"I'm fine. I'm just worried about Ben," Gwen said with a sigh before she turned back into her human form. Kevin wasn't going to ask how she did that. There were bigger concerns.
"I doubt he's taking it well," Kevin said, looking up towards the sky.
"He lost his body, and for all we know, what little normalcy he had. I don't know how long it would take for him to learn how to make a regular body. Hell, I don't even know how to do something like that," Gwen said while rubbing her temples.
"I still have one of those ID Masks the DNAliens were using," Kevin offered.
"That'll definitely help, but the problem is that he'll have to wear that thing wherever he goes. At school. At the store. Anywhere that involves going to public places. And the only time he won't have to wear it is when he's with us. Or when he's at his house. Everyone saw. Including Aunt Sandra and Uncle Carl," Gwen said, shaking her head sadly.
"We'll worry about all that later. First we need to find him," Kevin said, opening the door to his car. "Any idea where he might've gone?"
"I have a couple of ideas," Gwen said thoughtfully.
Despite his turmoil, Ben could appreciate his situation just a little. Being an Anodite had a type of empowering freedom to it. You could feel the essence of everything that was living around you as if you were all connected. It was like breathing in clean air all the time. It was amazing.
It did little to quell how upset he was.
"I can't believe she... She couldn't have respected my decision?" Ben thought with a growl before clenching his fists. "I hate her."
Well, hate wasn't quite the right word. The only person who ever really deserved his hate was Vilgax, and what with him being lost somewhere in outer space, he didn't really count.
But he was furious with her. It took all the self control he had to leave in order to process the whole situation more logically instead of giving into every instinct that told him to team up with Gwen and pummel her into the ground. Even now, the thought of going back and knocking some sense into her was tempting. But there was one thing that was holding him back. And that was aside from the fact he had like zero experience with his new abilities.
"Ben!" a familiar voice shouted, making him turn around.
Gwen quickly got out of Kevin's car and started rushing towards him. She was halfway to him by the time Kevin got out of his car.
Ben went back to looking up at the sky from the roof he was lying on. Gwen sighed before crossing her arms.
"You know that ignoring me won't make me go away," she said simply.
"I'm not trying to ignore you. I just... I'm having a hard time handling this," Ben said as Kevin started approaching. "How'd you even find me?"
"Even when you're upset, you still think the same," Kevin said as he pointed up to the Mister Smoothy sign. "Honestly wasn't that much of a surprise when she told me you would be here."
"Man, I need better private spots," Ben said with a shake of the head.
"You want to talk about it?" Gwen asked softy.
"I doubt it. I mean, I doubt anybody would to talk about getting their body disintegrated by their grandmother," Kevin pointed out before getting a hard elbow in the gut that nearly knocked him to the ground. "Ow! You trying to make me barf out a lung?"
"Would you..." Gwen started angrily, but stopped when she heard Ben chuckle.
"You know, when you say it like that, it almost sounds normal," he said.
"It's not really something to laugh about," Gwen told him, crossing her arms and looking him in typical Gwen fashion. It made him smile.
"It kind of is. Similar to how it's funny when you fall down the stairs or trip over something. You can laugh it off, and it makes it easier to deal with. You know?" Ben asked as he got off his back and hopped off the roof of the building.
"Is that how are you dealing with it?" she asked, making whatever amusement was on his face disappear in an instant.
"No. But I wish I could. My body is gone. There's no heart beating. No blood pumping through my veins anymore. All I feel is energy. And as amazing as it is, I already miss all the things that made me human," Ben said. He sounded so despondent, that neither Gwen nor Kevin quite knew what to say.
So naturally, Kevin went with something that immediately came to mind.
"You do realize it's going to be a lot more awkward to be around you without clothes," he said, making Gwen roll her eyes.
"That's just how Anodites are," she said.
"Well, it wasn't as awkward as with your grandmother given how she was like older than all of us combined. But this?" Kevin said, gesturing to Ben.
"That's just... how are you even..." Gwen spluttered in disbelief, but stopped herself again when she heard Ben chuckling silently. "How do you find all this funny?"
"Cause it feels normal. Honestly, that's the best thing I could ask for right now," he said, his smile still on his face.
"I'm amazed you didn't go alien on her. If she did something like that to me, family or not, it's way out of line," Kevin said angrily.
"I thought that's what we were going to do. She definitely would've deserved it," Gwen said venomously, her arms crossed.
She knew Ben was drawing power from her and her anger. Because she was doing the same with him. They empowered each other with their emotions. And the sensation made it feel like the two of them were capable of doing anything they wanted. She almost missed it. Almost because it nearly caused her to do something that she probably would've tried to talk Ben out of under normal circumstances. But that was a big probably.
"The thought was tempting. Very tempting. But one thing stopped me. And that's the fact that I may have to go with her," Ben said, making Kevin and Gwen look at him like he was crazy.
"Are you insane, Tennyson?" Kevin questioned, his tone full of disbelief. "Why would you ever want to go with the crazy woman who's the reason you're in this situation in the first place?"
"Hello? Are you looking at me right now? I don't exactly look like the Ben Tennyson people are used to seeing. And there's no telling what might happen if I don't learn how to control these powers. I could wind up blowing up a building if I so much as get angry," Ben explained with a deep scowl.
"I can help you get your powers under control. I may not be Verdona, but I can help a little," Gwen assured him firmly, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Besides, this should help with your 'not looking like you' problem," Kevin said, throwing him an ID Mask.
"I have to wear this whenever I go out in public," Ben said before sighing as he put it on. Immediately, his body transformed back into his regular look. "It feels as artificial as it is."
"You got another idea?" Kevin asked with an annoyed look.
"Yes, but that involves leaving Earth for who knows how long. And I don't want to do that," Ben said bitterly.
"But there's a big problem with this," Gwen said, getting Ben and Kevin's attention. She pointed to Ben's left arm, and the Omnitrix didn't appear. "You can't put it into your appearance?"
"Not a real version. Those masks are designed to make you look exactly like the person is supposed to. You can make it look like the watch is on his wrist, but all it'll be is an illusion," Kevin explained.
"That's fine. The only time I'll really need to transform is out of the sight of other people, so it doesn't really matter," Ben said in a flat tone. But he did adjust his look to where the watch was on his wrist before taking the mask off completely. "Take me home."
"Got it," Kevin said before the three of them walked towards Kevin's car.
Gwen put a hand on Ben's shoulder, but he didn't seem to notice. She knew Ben was lost in his thoughts, wondering how this situation was going to be made right.
"We've got your back, Ben. You aren't alone in this."
Verdona was doing more thinking than she had ever done in the past couple of decades.
She knew she had messed up the relationship with her grandkids, doing what she did. But also she knew if she let Ben walk away, still trapped in that human body of his, that he would never know what it meant to be an Anodite. Because he was trapped by his own vices; his attachment to the Omnitrix. She hoped that once he realized what being an Anodite felt like, he would warm up to the idea. She couldn't have been more wrong.
"As long as he learns how to be an Anodite, however limited it may be, I'll regret the situation less," Verdona thought. Though that hardly meant anything when the entire Earth side of your family hated you. More importantly, your grandkids.
The thought that members of her own Anodite family hated her made Verdona more ashamed with her rash decisions than she ever thought possible. But maybe one day, she could find a way to make up for it.
A/N: Not quite what you were expecting, was it? Well, maybe it was and I'm just transparent, but I'd like to think it was a good idea.
The original idea for this was that the story was going to start with Verdona not giving up on destroying Gwen's body. But Ben takes the blow, and it reveals that he's an Anodite. It eventually evolved to this, and it honestly makes far more sense as far as narrative goes. There's buildup to it, and it's obvious that Verdona's reasoning wasn't just solely the fact that she wanted to do what she wanted.
Verdona will return later on. I can promise you that. But for now, we'll be focusing on Ben and him adjusting to his new glowing problem. Of course, I'll keep the canon episodes consistent enough. Don't want to spend too much time on Ben just learning every new power I'm going to have him learn. Hope you enjoyed!