Author's Notes: Read and review, please.
Chapter 9: The Confrontation
Dark brown eyes focusing on the small metallic object on the belt loop, she prayed to all the deities that she could recall that he remained oblivious to her endeavour. The sleeping figure shifted slightly which caused the device to move more towards the center, clinking almost inaudibly against his zip. Discounting the frantic, girlish embarrassment that flooded her body, her outstretched fingers budged nearer the remote while her fist clenched tighter. She managed to brush her finger against the corner before the white-haired boy shot awake into a seating position.
A larger hand snatched her wrist just underneath the discs, forcefully raising her hands over her head.
"What are you doing?" he demanded lowly, although she felt as though she heard his voice crack at the beginning of his sentence. It was probably the grogginess from having just woken up. Nonetheless, she noted the deep pink tinting his cheeks when his face hovered threateningly over hers. Not entirely surprising since he'd just accidentally been groped by his hostage. The compromising position they were in was also ample source for embarrassment.
Despite recognizing that she'd just been caught red-handed, she excused badly, "I just wanted to get myself some fresh air outside without waking you up." If he wouldn't slap her for saying something so silly, she would do so herself.
Cringing at his progressively more exasperated expression, she recoiled at the possibility of being struck to unconsciousness.
"It is astounding how very little neuronal cells you humans employ," he retorted flatly, unhanding her roughly enough for her to fall flat on her back. Reclaiming the red jacket hanging over the monitors, he placed the fabric around his shoulders.
Hopelessness had become too much for her. Biting her lip, she squeezed her eyes firmly to keep releasing frustrated tears. No longer caring whether he noticed her eyes lined with red, she asked quietly, "Why won't you let me go? Why won't you just leave Ben alone?" She wanted to go home, play with Ship, sleep on a comfortable bed, eat on the dinner table with her parents. She wanted to hear Ben go on and on excitedly about the new Sumo Slammers movie.
"Because you are vital to the accomplishment of my strategy. Because Ben Tennyson is an incompetent, indescribably foolish creature who does not deserve the power and responsibility attributed to the Omnitrix," was the cold explanation, dripping with open revulsion and hostility. A condescending sneer surfaced on his face. "Did that answer satisfy your query?"
No. It didn't.
"It's your fault," she divulged unintentionally, even though sensibility was screaming and battering herself to remain quiet. But her mouth refused to comply. She sobbed in frustration, the sounds becoming louder with each word that dropped, "When you got stuck in that body it was all your fault. You keep using Ben as a scapegoat because your ego can't take that you made a mista-"
A hand shot out to grab a fistful of the front of her black shirt, dragging her towards him until they were face to face. Cowering, she pinched her eyes shut. Salt water gradually tracked down from her closed eyelids. Though she wouldn't allow herself to open her eyes, Julie could feel his warm, ragged breathe on her skin.
He should hate her. He would be completely within reason if he simply lost his temper and injure her irreparably. Somehow, he just simply could not muster the ability to hate her. Not ounce of negative feeling could push him to go as far as hatred.
Using his free thumb, he wiped the tear that freely rolled down her right cheek.
Abruptly allowing her to fall to the ground in a crumpled heap, he left her alone as she curled into a protective fetal position, cradling her own hands. Eventually becoming exhausted from releasing aggravated tears, she fell asleep.
For a few moments, he allowed himself to observe the steady rise and fall of her chest. Serenity settled on her face, returning the vibrancy that had been on her face before the layers of fear and desperation clouded it. Moist lips parted, exhaling a name he utterly despised.
Not long from now, the name would simply be a particularly horrendous memory. His appropriate body would be returned and would no longer be required to withstand the unbearable filth and stench that came with the one he owned for now. The desires of this body were demanding, constantly hounding until they were silenced. Sometimes he could no longer discriminate through his own needs amidst the ones being obligated on him. Ultimately, he would believe the body's influence was all his own thoughts.
Every now and again, he wondered if they actually were and he had only been convincing himself otherwise.
Albedo lifted one of the metallic boxes he had ordered, forcefully distracting himself away from gazing at the sleeping girl curled in the corner of the work area.
A message alert provided a better disruption, making him raise his head towards the screen in response.
The image of the dealer from the day previous flickered into view, confirming, "Okay, your message's out."
"Splendid," he uttered coolly, a satisfied smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
---
Red hair twirling as she tied the elastic band around her locks, Gwen Tennyson observed the line of buildings on the side of the road slowly become scarce. In place of the man-made structures, trees dotted the panorama. The Bellwood sign had disappeared into the horizon a long while ago and she was pleasantly surprised that her cousin hadn't resorted to childish antics to amuse himself.
Instead, he was sitting up straight with an extremely somber but alert expression while he stared out the windows.
Recently, his annoyingly cocksure, immature personality had resurfaced. Completely certain that it was the heroism beginning to get to the boy's head, she had met his unruly behavior head on. She felt as if she was ten years old again; referring to each other in insulting nicknames. For all her vitriolic attitudes towards him sometimes, she still recognized that all of her actions held an underlying worry. They had become surprisingly close due to their shared experiences that he had become the brother that wasn't Ken. She couldn't help but be concerned about Ben.
Her cousin remained soundless.
Reverting her attention towards the person in the driver's seat, she quietly inspected the dark eyes watch the road with an intense focus that sometimes frightened her. Gwen knew that he was well-versed in driving and considered all the actions associated with it as instinctive. A turn and he would change gears with the mindlessness of a work drone. He was definitely dwelling on something else.
With the length of time they spent together, the adventures they had, the relationship they formed, the redhead felt as though she had slowly become acquainted with him. Enough to feel as though she knew him. From time to time, she would privately reconstruct what she thought she knew of him. For all intents and purposes, Kevin was impenetrable to her. He wouldn't lie to her if she asked. So it was really more of matter of not knowing where to start asking.
Nonetheless, she was comfortable with the knowledge that he cared for her as much as she did him. If the intensity in his eyes was anything to go by, she should rest assured that she held that place. While his honesty was incredibly heart-warming, this didn't stop her from worrying about him. She had given him the privacy of his own thoughts. Though she couldn't entirely prevent herself from speculating. In addition to this, she had presented her trust to him, wholly and completely. She genuinely believed in him, but she was unsure whether he believed in himself equally. Though his insecurity regarding his most recent mutation wasn't a secret, she was sure there were others that were.
Hence Gwen carried on fretting.
They were her boys. Perhaps they held different places in her heart but they were both in there regardless. Gwen would fight tooth and nail for their safety and well-being.
The trees lessened, the spaces in the land increased to give way to plains.
"We're in the middle of nowhere," her cousin piped in, puncturing a hole in the silence. From the corner of her eye, Gwen observed his eyebrows furrow in concern. "There's nothing here."
Unable to help herself, she baited, "Totally reliable." The constant barbs at each other; the dry witticisms volleying back and forth between them had become a twisted form of flirting. They worked so well that they danced through the game seamlessly.
For a split second, the driver removed his eyes on the road to glower at her.
"You weren't exactly bursting with other options either," he bit out, after returning his gaze to the road where it was needed. "Besides, we aren't even there yet."
"Are you sure he wasn't lying through his teeth?" Ben confirmed, squirming visibly in his seat. He had stuck his head in between the seats at the front. "We can't be on a wild goose chase while Julie's out there."
The monotonous scenery of a flat expanse of land was suddenly interrupted by a wide, dark building at the end of the road.
"How many times am I gonna say 'I told you so' today?" the older boy retorted lightly, playfully staring at the roof as if in contemplation. "Hmm… I should keep a counter."
"It's a miracle," the brunette in the backseat gasped, blinking repeatedly to ascertain that the building wouldn't disappear like a mirage once he closed his eyes.
Gwen herself was gawking in disbelief. Unfortunately, a more sensible side of her brain immediately recalled all the other instances of encountering the porcupine-like conman that she pursed her lips in realization.
"This doesn't feel right," she grated, crossing her arms distrustfully as the building hovered menacingly over the Dodge Challenger, dark shadows falling over it even in the bright morning sunlight.
Parking the car, the driver groaned, "Can't you lemme win on this? So Argit gave good info." He exited, closing the door carefully and checking if it was properly shut. "That's not so farfetched. He's my friend."
Both eyes half-lidded and her lips flattened to a thin line, Gwen stared up at him. She disagreed openly, "Kevin, he really isn't," shutting the door after she had stepped outside.
"Let's go find Julie," Ben started, turning to his cousin. This cut short a fight that was about to erupt again. "Do you think you can track her?" He fumbled in his jacket for the object that was going to help Gwen's clairvoyance and pulled out a small notebook. Rubbing the back of his head, he explained sheepishly, "She let me borrow some notes before and we were supposed to meet at Mr. Smoothy so I could give it back. Never got around to it." A cynical smile grazed his features. "Slipped my mind after that stuff happened."
Taking the notebook from his hand, Gwen closed her eyes to look for the girl's life signature.
"I'm stumped," she stated eventually, opening her eyes. She returned the notebook to her disappointed cousin. "I don't know what it is but something's interfering with the signal. I'm being blocked from pinpointing her location."
"Let's just barge in," the mutant suggested impulsively, his feet shifting from side to side in eagerness regarding a confrontation.
"Actually, I'll go in first then you guys follow in and watch my back," Ben directed, his voice taking an authoritative tone. He insisted, "Let's think about getting Julie out as first priority and butt kicking as second, okay?"
"Whatever," the older boy stated dismissively, waving a hand.
The trio turned to face the building, allowing them to process what it was exactly. A warehouse.
The Omnitrix-wielder had no issues about walking straight in. This was not the case for his companions.
"I feel like this happened already," Kevin remarked dreadfully, observing the front of the warehouse in suspicion. Despite the idea of having to concede with Gwen's previous comment, he still wanted to verbalize his doubts.
"Like déjà vu?" Gwen supplemented helpfully, letting her eyes wander around the barren fields. The warehouse was the only sign of industrialization in the area and stood out like a sore thumb. She inspected for signs of other people but the area was totally empty.
"I hate the smell of packing foam," Kevin grumbled unintelligibly, strolling beside Gwen towards the warehouse.
The decrepit structure was expectedly dark yet unexpectedly filled to the brim with materials as if the storage place was still in full production. Upon stepping inside, the brown-haired teenager noted the unsettling silence. Experience informed him that the gaping chasm was a waiting silence, looking forward to the entrance of its visitors.
He walked forward, searching constantly for indications that Julie was present in the area.
Meanwhile, Kevin and Gwen had lagged behind a little bit farther from the brunette's lead, keeping their eyes peeled for movement. They weren't as concerned with the direction that Ben was taking. Suddenly, a head of brown-hair peeked in from behind an aisle of crates to their right.
The red-haired girl noticed that the retreating green coat had disappeared in front of them.
"Ben?" she called out as quietly as she could so as not to alert anyone else but everyone in the immediate region. Slowly approaching the figure, she waved Kevin to follow her.
The male Tennyson faced the two of them and pointed his hand farther through the aisle. He instructed in a low voice, "Come. I believe that I saw something," pivoting quickly as he hurried towards whatever it was.
Jogging as soundlessly as possible, they avoided any boxes that have chaotically littered the path to hasten towards their destination. When they arrived in a more open space, they only found a wall with a gaping door and the usual cardboard boxes. The person leading them had disappeared into thin air. Gwen noted the suspicious looking machinery that bordered the room.
"What the--" the combination of solids began in irritation, though swiftly interrupted by a momentary flash of green. The attack sent both him and Gwen hurtling towards the room. They smashed soundly against the wall of the room.
Shaking her head to clear her very rattled brain, Gwen raised her head to gaze at where they had come in. Her blood froze. A sinister smirk appeared after a flash of green made the Vaxasaurian vanish back into the Omnitrix. The figure glowered at them through stark white bangs behind the glass window on the door, he click of the lock sounding as he pulled the lever on the side.
Kevin was swearing a litany of curses that were human and not while he rubbed the back of his head. His stare met the eyes of their enemy.
The annoying arrogant expression on the kid's face made the older teen's fist itch and sure enough, he rushed towards the door. The punch on the window was met with the resistance of bullet-proof glass, pain travelled up his peculiarly flesh skin. Blood trailed down the glass where his knuckles had connected. Kevin didn't shield the overwhelming shock that he felt, gawping at his soft, prone human hands.
When he returned his gaze at the figure behind the window, the Galvan-turned-human's lips curved upwards into an ingratiating, taunting smile. The words 'thank you' were mouthed briefly before the red-clothed being turned his back towards them and stalked away. Kevin slammed his hand over the retreating image, caring little for the hurt that warned him against such actions.
"Kevin, your mutation…" the girl behind him gasped, examining the black hair that fell down softly across his face. As if to confirm it for herself, she placed a hand over his bare shoulder.
"I should feel happy about this but I don't," he muttered, gently moving away from her to touch the cemented wall. "Look." Struggling for a few seconds to absorb the matter, he was mocked by his stubbornly flesh hand.
Dread washed down the girl's face. Raising both her hands and pointing them at the door, she searched her body for the manna to travel up her arms. Nothing. In fact, she couldn't even detect her own life energy let alone make them surge outside.
"Okay," she snapped determinedly, dusting her hands over her pants as if it would help her. Her boyfriend decided to raise an eyebrow for her efforts. Trying not to twitch at his scrutiny and not be distracted by his scantily-clad body, she searched her memory for whatever in the Archamada Book of Spells that could possibly get them out. "I'm a little rusty at this so give me a moment."
Shaking her hands briefly, she pointed them again at the door. She tried a simple spell that could pick locks, rolling the words in her mind before outright iterating them.
"Was that supposed to keep it locked?" he remarked teasingly, when nothing happened again.
She only rolled her eyes, not dignifying his immature ridicule with a response. Dropping her hands to her sides, she stared at the ceiling wondering whether Ben had even noticed they had gone.
---
Pivoting quickly when noticed that only pair of footfalls he heard were his own, he warily searched every nook and corner with his concerned green eyes.
"I knew I could always depend on your impressive idiocy when all else fails," his own voice told him, redirecting his attention towards the source. Narrowing his eyes at his white-haired clone standing authoritatively atop a stack of crates, Ben's right hand drifted on top of the Omnitrix.
"What happened to Kevin and Gwen? Where's Julie? What did you do to her?" the brunette demanded, stepping closer to where his opponent was.
"You are not in the position to be dealing interrogation, Ben Tennyson," the copy reminded, ambling languidly over the crates with his hands behind his back. "To be fair, I will grant you an answer to your last query. Though it really should be: What would transpire if you refuse to cooperate?" One of the hands stretched out, a small device in it was clicked.
"What? Why?" the brunette questioned in panic.
A thin tower of a stereo to the side of the red clothed figure buzzed out with a monotonous noise. Until a docile female voice rasped, "Ben?"
Green eyes widening, his mouth gaped at the radio transmission. Running towards the stack of crates, he exclaimed distraughtly, "Julie! Where are you? I'll come get you!"
"I don't kn--" the chafed, tired response sputtered out, cutting off alongside the humming background noise of the transmission.
Veering his glare back to Albedo, the owner of the true Omnitrix questioned in a deep, aggressive tone, "Where is she?" Both hands clenched into fists, he debated with himself if he should just attack if aggressive negotiation was the only language this guy would understand.
"If you hand over the Omnitrix that knowledge would be at your disposal," was the equally hard voice response, the pallid hand outstretching towards Ben.
Recoiling visibly, the brunette stood back farther with a confident expression. Dialing the Omnitrix to his choice, he declared, "I've got a better idea."
Straightening his body into an upright position, Albedo twisted his own Omnitrix to his own selection and slammed his hand over the watch.
Two flashes of green light signified the transformation of the two fighters.
"Humong--" he exclaimed in a British accent, stuttering upon noticing the pincers at the end of his arms that he had raised. Scuttling around in his sharp legs, he observed the Cerebrocrustacean transformation with chagrin. With equally British humor, he grumbled tetchily at the Omnitrix, "Brainstorm. How thoroughly amusing." He tapped the center of the device a few times.
"I agree," the Necrofriggian stated in a frosty tone, blowing a strong gust of ice at the peeved Cerebrocrustacean.
---
Yanking sharply against the shackles pinning her to the chair, she tried to slide her head off of the binding around her forehead fruitlessly. She sighed for the umpteenth time, more nagging voices accusing her of uselessness plaguing her mind.
Julie had fallen asleep, like normal humans would after they've had a row of unsuccessful escape attempts from a super powered captor.
She was caught between trusting and distrusting him; his mellow voice a perfect match to that of her boyfriend's own that it did lull her to a false sense of security. There were moments spent during her kidnapping that she would be convinced he was becoming nice to her. Then he would do something like choke her into unconsciousness.
Admittedly, she had been trying to run past him to escape. The continued rough behavior towards her, the threats and the general aura of discomfort convinced Julie that his moments of amiability were more mistakes than anything. The stark disparity between him and Ben in her mind only grew.
Reflecting over what Ben could possibly be doing now, her lips quirked into a minute saddened smile. She wanted desperately to be out of there. However, she was caught between wanting to be saved and wanting him to stay far away where it would be safe. While she knew that he was more than capable of fighting any opponents he came across, she was concerned that there would be one day - one blunder of a day - where he wouldn't come out on top.
Heart wrenching painfully at the idea, she tried to distract herself with thrashing against the manacles again.
Something made a humming noise on her side, realizing that the grill-like holes on the console beside her was actually a communication device.
A nervous voice filtered through the noise, asking in honest confusion, "What? Why?"
The way he used the voice. It wasn't her captor.
"Ben?" her torn, bedraggled vocal chords grated out, the warmth of hope spreading on her chest. Once again, she jerked at the restraints to reach out for the console but was pulled right back.
"Julie! Where are you? I'll come get you!" was the speedy, anxious response that reverberated through the room. Those few words that came from the radio transmission revitalized her veins, an inappropriate giggle of happiness threatening to rise to her throat until she stomped on the desire. At the very least, she was able to hear his voice be used with caring words. The aspect that made her fall.
Dispelling through her excessive rejoicing, she returned herself to reality by answering with her currently scratchy voice, "I don't know where I am. But I think it's a ship of some sort." The monotonous silence greeted her again, the vibrating drone of the engine was almost inaudible. The radio transmission had cut off.
Frustrated, she yelled, "Ben?"
Slamming her small fists repeatedly on the smooth white arm rests, she imagined viciously that the surface of her chair was her captor's white-haired head. After releasing the aggression that had built up inside, it left a vacant low of emotion that drained all the energy from her. She was actually sorry for the horrid thoughts that had flashed through her mind.
The girl just hoped Ben was alright.
---
A bored Galvanic Mechamorph stretched its neck higher to peer through the window. Due to the length of time spent by the team rescuing his owner, he decided to be more proactive than them. Slipping through the opening underneath the door of the backseat, he slithered to the cement and made a move to enter the warehouse. But when he sent out a signal to detect all the technology located in the area, he noticed another indicator coming from slightly farther away.
Suspicious of this strange, misplaced signal, he pinpointed it specifically. Ship transformed into a massive fighter plane and followed the breadcrumbs.
---
"Brain freeze?" the Cerebrocrustacean remarked, bounding out of the way of the blast and scampering on top of the crates. "I think not! What with smoothies being absent in the immediate vicinity." Charging an electrical storm through his brain, he sent the attack through to the Necrofriggian who was flying rapidly to his position.
The flying blue creature became intangible, the electricity phased past his body and shot forward to the other end of the warehouse. Thinking quickly, the Cerebrocrustacean clicked the center of his chest.
A bright flash of green came from the core and a Methanosian appeared, only to be encased in ice when the Necrofriggian went through him.
Pivoting quickly to inspect his handiwork, Albedo swore under his breathe when he noticed the flames erupting underneath the frost and rapidly melting it.
Victoriously bursting outside of the ice block with a yell of, "Swampfire!" Ben found himself excited with the idea that the Omnitrix took his suggestion. "Hey, it worked!" The exhilaration engrossed him too much that he failed to notice the spindly long fingers that turned that clicked the center of the Omnitrix again. Light engulfed him, shrinking his size until he found himself staring at the Necrofriggian around the knees.
Staring at himself, his stomach ironically fell to lower than ground level.
"Upchuck," he muttered glibly to himself as a large foot smashed forcefully into his face. The solid wall that he became closely acquainted with in those few moments cracked at the force.
A Vaxasaurian unhurriedly ambled towards the fallen Gourmand's location because the distinction in strength had over inflated his ego. Upchuck jumped towards the nearest crate and stretched his mouth so he could fit the entire thing. Gulping the large box as quickly as he could when Humongousaur's thundering feet came within a few steps, he spat out the liquid energy balls.
With a raised arm, the Vaxasaurian blocked the blow with little more than an irritated hiss of pain.
When the Gourmand tried to jump out of the way, an enormous fist grabbed the small, struggling creature and squeezed.
"Hey, hey!" Upchuck shouted, trying to push his body outside of the continually compressing fist. "Ow! That hurts! Let go!" His struggling increased.
"Surrender the Omnitrix," the thunderous voice of the other Humongousaur ordered.
"In your dreams!" he snapped, kicking his tiny feet frantically from below him. Readying himself to bite through the skin of the Vaxasaurian, he opened his mouth wide. Just in time, however, the fingers squeezing around him clicked the core, transforming him back to his human body.
Pain laced up his jaws when he realized that he had just tried to bite Humongousaur with his human teeth. "What? I didn't time out, did I?" he asked himself, panicking rabidly at the concept. Only then did he notice that the fingers around him were still crushing his body.
Dots danced around his vision. He began to feel faint when he was slammed bodily down the floor.
Brightness burst from above before the feeling of smaller fingers wrapped around his neck registered. Trying to chase away the unconsciousness that threatened to descend on him, he watched the red clothed version of himself raise the other hand with what looked like a remote in it.
"Perhaps threatening bodily harm on you would not yield success," the Galvan considered out loud. "Will that change if I inform you that this object also controls the machinery around the hostage? " His red eyes narrowed. "Do you wish to learn what pressing this would achieve?"
Ire incited successfully by the threat, Ben discomfited sat up and pulled his arm back to punch his copy in the face. He was completely over joyed when the other boy's head snapped backwards at the impact.
The surprise of the hit made Albedo accidentally clutch the remote tighter, clicking the button that he had threatened to push.
The radio transmission crackled back to life, a shrill feminine scream reverberating through the warehouse.
---
Julie was simply sitting in silence, contemplating what other course of action she could possibly attempt next.
Out of nowhere, the restraints around her arms became painfully tight. A rustle of electricity under her palm warned her briefly of what was about to occur.
She felt as though every single cell in her body burnt from the heat of the electrical shock.
All she wanted through the experience was for the loud piercing sound in her ear to stop, causing the situation to be even more painful. Only later would she realize that the sound was her own mouth screaming uncontrollably from the pain.
---
Red eyes widening at what his opponent had forced him to do, he rose quickly to slam a foot against the green clothed teenager's abdomen. The anger that raged through his veins made his foot squash harder down the boy's vulnerable flesh.
"Julie," Ben choked out, staring straight at accusing blood eyes that blazed like a forest fire.
