Chapter 10: Fifty Miles Out
I Don't Own Ben 10 Or Any Of The Characters
Author's Note
* Hello and welcome to chapter ten! Welcome back guys, I hope you guys are enjoying the story!
* In this chapter, we get a closer look at what Jenny has planned for Tomyx. Kevin, Gwen and Ben are going to research a piece of technology that could save their side of the war. And finally, Kenny and Devlin are going to hunt down a defector. And trust me, you do not want to miss the ending of this chapter! It'll be a shock!
* One thing I want to mention! csgt asked if Kevin was mentioned last chapter. And yes, he was. He also asked if there would be a love triangle between him, Gwen and Ben. And I'll admit it. I thought about it and I liked the idea, but ultimately, it's not going to happen. For one main reason. And that reason is that Kevin is already married. Enough on that subject,
* So I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, let's get on with it!
Tomyx
"So, what do you want me to do again?" I asked. "I forget."
Jenny rolled her eyes.
"You need to pay more attention." she said in a harsh tone. "Using your shape shifting abilities, I want you to infiltrate the Resistance. Once inside, find out everything you can that will cripple their defenses."
"But that isn't right! We'll end up-" I began to speak, but she cut me off.
"Can you let go of your moral compass for just a few minutes?! Of course it's not right!" she exclaimed. "That's the beauty of it! It doesn't have to be right! We'll win in the end anyway!"
"Well, what if I don't want to do any of this?" I asked.
"Well, as much as I'd hate to do it, I would have to report to the Emperor and probably have you killed." Jenny said.
"Please tell me you're kidding." I said.
"You wish I was kidding." Jenny said. "If you really want to know your choices, you can do what I tell you or you can die. It's up to you."
I let out a sigh. I obviously had no choice but to do my job.
"Okay. When do I start?" I asked.
She grinned.
"Wise choice." she said.
Kenny Tennyson
It was about time to turn in for the night, by mother's standards anyway. I heard a knock at the door as I tried to get last minute things out of the way.
"It's unlocked." I called.
I heard the door slide open, as I emptied my bottle of prescription pills into my trash bin. I looked up, to see my father walking in.
"What brings you here?" I asked, as I tossed the empty bottle onto my desk.
"I wanted to come ask you a few questions." he said. "One of them being, you're not taking your medication anymore?"
"What do you care?!" I exclaimed. "You were never there for us!"
In all reality, I did stop taking my medication. Father raised his hands, trying to calm both of us down.
"Okay, okay, let's back it up a little bit. If you don't want to think of yourself as my son, that's fine." he said. "But I'm still your father. So why are you not taking your medication anymore?"
"The resistance is at war. And I'm not sure if the genetic makeup that I got from you will cut it." I said. "So, as much as I hate to admit it, I need mother's abilities. I need my inherited Anodite abilities."
"Do you really think th-" he began to speak, but I cut him off.
"Look, let's cut to the chase. Why are you here? What do you need?" I asked.
Father put his palm on his forehead, expressing annoyance. He then looked at me with a straight face.
"I'm going out on a mission with your mother and Kevin tomorrow. Anything I need to know before tomorrow?" I asked.
"Yeah. Don't mess it up!" I exclaimed.
Father didn't say anything for a few seconds.
"Wait, that's it?" he asked, as if he expected me to say more.
"Yeah, that's it! You left us!" I exclaimed. "Why should I give you advice when you don't care enough to stay?!"
He just looked at me with disappointment.
"If you cared at all, you wouldn't have left!" I exclaimed. "You're a pathetic excuse for a father!"
He looked at me with a shocked expression on his face.
"You have it all wrong, son! I am your father and I do love you!" he said. "Don't let yourself think otherwise!"
"Of course that's what'd you say!" I argued. "You're crazy! Get out!"
He just looked at me with a shocked expression. He sat there for a second, before he hung his head, getting up and leaving the room.
After he was gone, I threw the empty bottle into the trash bin. I sat back down on my bed and looked down at my left hand. I began to focus, to concentrate as my mom taught me only once or twice in my life.
Slowly, but surely, I began to see green energy begin to appear in the palm of my hand. Once I saw the energy being created in my hand, I lifted my hand and pointed it at a cylinder on my desk.
I concentrated and tried to fire a ball of Anodite energy at the cylinder. But as hard as I tried, I couldn't. I looked back at my hand, to see that the light that the energy gave off was dimming.
It kept dimming until it finally flickered out. The presence of Anodite energy in my palm was gone. I let out a sigh, as I allowed my hand to rest on my knee. The medication was still coursing through my veins. And for the most part, my abilities were still suppressed. I needed time for my strength to return. And it would.
Ben
I let out a sigh, before knocking on the door to Gwen's quarters. It was about ten o'clock at night and I had no idea what I was doing. No, scratch that. I knew exactly what I was doing. I needed to convince Gwen that she didn't really want a divorce.
After a few seconds, the door opened and I saw Gwen standing there, in a pair of matching pajama pants and pajama shirt.
"What do you want?" Gwen asked in an irritated tone. "I thought I told you to leave me alone?"
"May I come in, p-please?" I asked.
She didn't want to let me in. I could see it in her eyes. I looked at her eyes. Her eyes were sad, angered and gave off what I assumed was hatred. But eventually, she gave in. She sighed with annoyance, before opening the door all the way, allowing me to enter.
I heard the door close behind me.
"What did you want?" she asked.
"You need to reconsider." I said, as I turned to face her.
"Excuse me?" she asked, with a gleam of anger in her eyes.
"You don't want a divorce Gwen." I said. "Trust me, it won't help you with anything."
In terms of staying calm, she didn't last very long.
"Don't you tell me what I do and don't want, Benjamin! You have no right!" she exclaimed. "I want a divorce because you abandoned us! You lied to us, you played us like a harp, and for what?! Just to leave us after pretending to be happily married for thirteen years?!"
I sighed, trying my best not to get angry like she was.
"Gwen, it's not what you think." I said. "I never lied to you. Why do you think I had children with you? Why would a person do that if they didn't love their significant other? I left because you guys would be safer with me gone. Jenny is focused on me. She wants me dead, not you and Kenny."
"Oh, so now you're blaming your actions on the kids?! That's so wrong!" she exclaimed, as she began to tear up again. "You're lying again! You never loved us!"
"Gwen, please! I love you!" I said. "How many times do I have to say that our daughter just wants me, not you?"
"Our daughter was misguided! She didn't have the same moral compass as you and Kenny!" Gwen exclaimed. "While Kenny trained with you to become the next Omnitrix wielder, she trained with both you and I at different times to use her Anodite abilities for good! And look where that went!"
"You're talking about how she killed a first generation of students and spared only her brother?" I asked.
"Yes!" she exclaimed.
"Okay, that wasn't her fault." I said.
"How?! How was it not her fault?!" Gwen exclaimed.
"You're right. She was misguided. But we didn't do it." I said. "It was Vilgax."
"And once again, after thirteen years, I ask that I thought you killed him?" Gwen asked.
"Apparently ripping off an arm and collapsing a lung isn't enough to keep him down." I said. "When I saw him that night, he had a robotic arm and had a breathing apparatus on his face. You know, the night I had to saw off my own hand if I wanted our children to survive."
"I remember that night. You came home with them and a missing hand. The next day, our daughter killed your students at the academy that you and Kevin opened up." she said. "Once we found her, we brought her home and locked her in her room until we knew what we should do with her. She disappeared from her room sometime in the night. And of course, I woke up the next morning and you were gone."
"And we're back full circle." I said. "Sometime after I left, the Vilgaxian Order came into existence and eventually the war began."
"Which you don't need to be a part of. You just need to leave!" she exclaimed.
"Gwen, please. I'm trying to reason with you!" I said. "I know you don't want a divorce. And deep down, you know it, too!"
"You're the one needs to be reasoned with! I don't want to be married to you anymore!" she exclaimed.
"Gwen, what do you think would happen to Kenny if we divorced? How would it affect him? H-" I was speaking, but she interrupted.
"Stop. Kenny is not a child. Leave him out of this." she said.
"Gwen, I know he's not a child. He's twenty two, but he's barely an adult. How would us divorcing affect his mental health, also considering the fact that we're at war!" I exclaimed. "Do you actually think he would ever again be happy if we divorced during a war?"
"How should I know? He barely talks to anyone anymore!" she said. "Oh, and he and Devlin aren't really friends anymore!"
"Then why are you sending them both on a mission?" I asked.
"Leave them out of it." she said. "So what are you asking about?"
"I'll do anything for you. Don't you know that?" I asked.
"Okay. Give me a divorce." she said.
"Anything but that! Please, Gwen!" I exclaimed. "If we just try, we can make it work! Think of Kenny, if you don't want to do it for us!"
Gwen just looked at me with angry eyes. I looked back at her with pleading eyes. She finally let out an angry sigh.
"Ugh, fine! If you can help us fight in this war and end it in our favor, than I'll consider it." she said. "I'm not promising you anything, I might consider not divorcing you."
I sighed with relief.
"Thank you, Gwen." I said.
"Don't thank me yet." Gwen said.
"So, does this mean we can sleep in the same room?" I asked.
"What, are you kidding? No! Of course not!" Gwen said.
"Fine." I said, as I turned around to leave. "I didn't want to sleep in here anyway."
I had put my hand on the touch pad that would open the door when she spoke.
"Ugh, okay fine, all right! But you're sleeping on the couch!" she exclaimed.
I grinned in spite of myself, at the thought that I had won.
Kirby
I looked at the screen, forever still, as it continued to scan through the system for a match to DNA sample that was given.
"How long is this going to take?" I asked.
Ben's grandfather looked at me.
"Sorry kid. If you think it's going to be done tonight, you're mistaken." he said. "This could take days."
I sighed as I put my head in my hands.
"Don't worry, kid. We'll find out where you came from eventually." he said.
Kenny
Six in the morning. Alarm going off over the speakers all through out the facility. What a way to wake up.
I dragged myself out of bed and turned the lights on. I walked over to my built in kitchen, I was the only one except for mother that had one. I looked around the shelf for my breakfast:
A canned drink that was required to be drank by all of the fighters in the Resistance. It was meant to help boost strength and keep a person awake. My preferred flavor was apple.
It's not like that mattered though. No matter how many times they changed the recipe, to me, it always tasted like the same lime flavored crap. I opened up the can and drank half of it down, shuddering from said flavor.
Just then, there was a booming knock at my door. I put the can down and walked over to the door in confusion. I unlocked the door and it slid open. Devlin was standing there, in his full uniform, along with his armor plates and helmet worn over that.
"Why don't you have your uniform on?! Come on, let's go!" he exclaimed, as he ran down the hallway.
I let out a sigh as I walked over to my closet and began to get out my uniform out.
Ben
The alarms didn't wake me up. What did wake me up was Gwen dragging me off of the couch. I fell onto my back and let out a groan of pain.
"Come on, get up. You can't sleep in while the rest of us get up early." she said. "If you're going to help us in this war, you have to play the part. You can't just sit back and relax because you feel like it. That's not how it works."
I sat up and put my back up against the couch.
"Good. You're up." she said. "Take five minutes and then go to your assigned quarters. There was a uniform left out for you. You will wear it. Then you'll meet Kevin and I in the Command Center."
I sat there for a while, as Gwen got ready for the day. Then, I just had to ask the question.
"Can you at least tell me what we're doing?" I asked. "What the mission is?"
Gwen didn't respond. She cleared her throat before looking at me.
"We're going out to a crash site. There is a meteor there that the Vilgaxian Order seems pretty interested in. And I want to know what's so special about it." she said.
"Do you have any idea where the meteor came from?" I asked.
"No. But there must be some reason why they're guarding it." she said. "And that's what we're going to find out."
Kenny
Several Hours Later
"Did they really have to make us walk all the way there?" Devlin complained as we walked side by side.
"Shut up." I said. "They dropped us five miles out. That's as far as they could take us. It'll take us a day or two to make it to the rendevous point. So shut up about it."
"What's your problem?" he asked, as he nudged me.
"You're my problem!" I exclaimed. "You've been my problem for the last few days! You made me burn all of my research on the Suit. And you made me throw away all of the samples that we'd made. I didn't even want to come on this mission with you."
"The Suit was a waste of time. We have better thi-" he began to speak, but I cut him off.
"Shut up. Just shut up." I said. "We're done talking."
We walked in silence for the rest of the way.
Ben
Several Hours Later
Kevin and I kept watch as Gwen analyzed pieces of the meteor. Kevin and I got off on the wrong foot. When he first saw me, he gave me a black eye. And then kicked me in the ribs a little.
So, I didn't enjoy having to work with him.
"What's the word, Gwen?" I asked. "How are we doing?"
"She'll tell you when she finds something." Kevin said, as he elbowed me in the ribs.
I lost my breath as I toppled to the ground, to which Kevin snickered.
"Stop messing around you two." Gwen said.
I struggled to get up, but eventually did.
"We have a problem." Gwen said.
"What's that?" I asked, as I finally found my breath.
"There is nothing here." Gwen said. "This is just a normal meteorite. There's nothing special about it."
I was about to ask what the reason they were so interested in it was, but never got the chance to. We began to get shot at.
Kenny
Two Days Later
Devlin and I sat behind a cover, waiting for the defector to appear in our sight lines. It was only a few minutes later, that we heard the footsteps.
Devlin and I both sprang from our cover, training our weapons on him.
"In the name of the Resistance, we command you to stop where you are!" I exclaimed.
The boy didn't run. That's right. You heard me right. He was a boy. Looked no more than seventeen. He just spoke.
"You guys with the Resistance?" he asked.
I ignored his question.
"You're delivering classified information to the enemy. And for what?" I asked.
He kept his hands raised in the air as he answered.
"Look man, I just want to see this war end." he said.
"At what cost?! The murder of thousands?!" Devlin exclaimed.
I looked at him, but ignored him. I looked back at him.
"What's your name, kid?" I asked.
"H-Hank. It's Hank." he said, stuttering.
"Hank, look. You think you know stuff, but let me tell you. You don't know anything." I said. "The Vilgaxian Order will kill all of us without a second thought. They don't care who dies to have to win their war."
Hank said nothing.
"We're going to give you a choice. You can come back with us and be put in a detention cell." I said. "Or, you can walk away and not go to the Vilgaxian Order. You don't come back with us either. You just go and live your life, and pretend that this never happened. Pretend that you never had the information."
I let him think about it for a few seconds.
"I can't go to them?" he asked.
"No. We will not let that happen. You can come back with us, or you can give us the files and take your chances out on the road." I said.
Part of me expected him to try to fight his way out. But he was just a kid.
"I think I'll take my chances on the road. Try to go back home. Or where home once was." Hank said.
"That's good. That's fine. Through us the files kid." I said.
He slowly lowered his hands and reached around to his back and pulled two files that were taped shut. He threw them over to us. I went to collect them.
"Thanks, kid." I said once I had them.
"Can I go now?" he asked.
I was about to say yes, but Devlin did the unthinkable. He lifted his Laser Pistol, pointed it at Hank's face and fired, killing him instantly. I looked back at him in shock.
"But he was just a k-" I began to speak, but he cut me off.
"I know what he was. He was trouble. He betrayed us." he said. "And we can't let that stand. He had to die. Come on, let's go."
I now knew what mother would have wanted me to do.
"No. It wasn't your call to just kill him and you did it anyway." I said. "You're not coming back with me. I'm exiling you."
He looked back at me.
"Are you kidding me?" he said. "I just saved our butts!"
"It wasn't your choice! You killed a kid!" I exclaimed. "You're not coming back!"
"You should be thanking me." he said. "That kid was nuts trying to do that. Just like your whacked up sister."
It was then that I lost it. I ran to him and kicked him in the stomach. He was sent toppling down. I collected his Rifle and most of his rations while he was down, putting my put on his chest so he couldn't get back up.
"You're just leaving me out here? On my own?" he asked.
"You'll survive. You have at least two days worth of food and water if you conserve it." I said, as I walked away.
"You're right. My sister may be crazy, but she's still my sister." I said.
He said nothing.
"I want you to know something." I said, as I turned back to face him. "If I ever see you at base again, I won't hesitate to kill you. Good bye, Devlin."
I turned back around and walked away, leaving him by himself.
Author's Note:
* Well, what did you guys think?
* Were you expecting Devlin to kill the defector? Can you see him becoming an antagonist? Ben is attempting to get his marriage back on track. Kirby is waiting for the results from the DNA test. And nothing really interesting went down in this chapter, minus the fact that Devlin disobeyed orders.
* Well, that's it for now. Any reviews are appreciated for those wanting to submit input. Please follow and favorite the story if you enjoyed. See you next time! Have a great day!