Grandpa Max calls out a few Plumbers to meet with them in an attempt to loosen Ben's tongue. The former hero meets some new and old friends.

"There! Good as new!" Gwen said smiling.

Ben looked into the mirror curiously. He took in his new look with short hair. It was a bit strange, but the nostalgia mad him smile softly, besides, this way the ear piercings were more visible. He liked seeing them to be honest, it made him feel special. Gwen seemed to think differently about it, as she reached for one of the earrings and softly caressed it.

"Can I take them out?" she asked softly.

Ben shook his head. He didn't want to lose another connection with Vilgax. They had already taken him away and cut his hair. If they wanted to take something away, it should be that damn cock ring. Ben was getting blue balls, because drugs or not, he was starting to get really horny after six days of nothing.

"I like them," he told Gwen softly when he noticed her suspicious stare.

"Alright, we'll keep them in… for now."

The brunette frowned at that, but didn't say anything. He would worry about their attempts to change him when the time came. Until then, he could only hold on to his precious memories. He'd gone through the whole kidnapping thing before and this time, he'd get through it better. Or not at all, Vilgax would find him eventually anyway. All he had to do was figure out a way to make sure the warlord wouldn't kill his family for taking him away from his rightful owner.

"Ready to go downstairs?" Gwen asked after a while.
"Grandpa has invited several Plumbers over today, and they want to meet you."

"Why?" Ben wondered confused.
"Are they angry at me?"

"Of course not! It's just the first time we were able to save a living hostage from Vilgax. And a hero at that. You made a name for yourself around here Ben."

Gwen wheeled Ben away from the mirror and started leading him towards the door. They had come to the decision to move Ben's room downstairs to make it easier to access, as well as getting him a wheelchair. Kevin had volunteered to carry Ben wherever he needed to go, but the rest believed it to be best to give Ben a bit more space. They thought he'd be more comfortable if they used a wheelchair instead. Ben didn't particularly care either way.

"You might even remember some of them," Gwen continued cheerfully.
"Even Cooper is stopping by just to see how you're doing."

Ben couldn't think who this 'Cooper' could possibly be, but Gwen seemed happy about him being there, so he didn't dare to tell her. Instead, he just smiled weakly at her and nodded. No reason to let her know he was feeling a bit apprehensive about meeting the Plumbers. He didn't need to see the faces of the people he could no longer protect.

When they entered the living room, all conversation fell quiet. Ben shrunk at the gazes of several humans and aliens alike. The Plumbers all watched him with pity, guilt, and some even disgust. It was terrifying for the brunette.

"Ben!" a short, blond teen said happily, approaching him.

Ben stared at him, trying to get who it was that greeted him. The boy seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't say from where. Perhaps they used to know each other before, but he wasn't sure from where or how. When the blonde realized Ben didn't recognize him, he frowned.

"You… don't know who I am, do you?" he asked.

"Sorry…"

"Let me reintroduce you guys then!" Kevin spoke up, throwing an arm over the blonde's shoulder.
"This, is Cooper Daniels. From what I heard, he helped you guys stop the Negative 10 or something."

"Right… I guess I kind of remember," Ben mumbled.
"I'm sorry, Cooper. I never meant to forget. It's just…"

"You went through a lot," Cooper dismissed.

"You should be proud of yourself Benji. Cooper came out of his lab for the first time in three weeks just to come see you!" Kevin teased grinning.

"Ben," Max called out, walking up to his long lost grandson followed by an older couple.
"Do you remember my brother Gordon and his wife Betty Jean? We saw them last when Joel got married. He and Camille are both at Headquarters right now, but they might stop by in the following days too."

"Good to see you alive and well, Ben," Gordon said grinning.

"Max said you might have information that can help us defeat Vilgax," Betty Jean added.

Ben sighed sadly and shook his head.

"I don't think I can really help you guys…" he mumbled softly.

"We know you're scared Ben," Max spoke in a comforting manner.
"But Vilgax can't get to you anymore, I promise. We'll protect you no matter what."

"Even if you think you might not know anything of importance, I'm sure anything you say would be helpful," Gwen tried to persuade her cousin.

"… I can tell you this much," Ben replied softly, staring at his grandfather with bright green eyes.
"None of you have seen Vilgax at full strength yet. He's so powerful, I don't think even I have seen the extent yet, and he took me to watch several planets be destroyed."

"What does he use to destroy these planets?" Betty Jean asked eagerly, sensing useful information.

"I don't know, I guess it's different every time. I've seen him blow them up, or evaporate a water planet, or freeze over a desert world. If they don't give in under his armies, he uses the planet's weaknesses against them."

"Armies? More than one?" Gwen wondered.
"Just how many has he exactly?"

"I only met a few of his generals," Ben replied shrugging.
"All different species. Mercenaries, assassins, forced soldiers from conquered worlds. I'm not sure how many though. I'm only familiar with my personal guards. They were supposed to keep me safe."

"Lucky for you they did a bad job!" a teenage Tetramand grinned.

Ben frowned and looked at him, wondering who that was. He was wearing a Plumber's uniform, and he was scrawnier than the usual Tetramand with a bit more humanoid traits, especially in his face. Next to him stood a female Kineceleran also in a Plumber suit.

"Those were the people that took care of me for the past 6 years," Ben reminded him.

"No. These were the people that kept you prisoner for the past 6 years," the Tetramand replied.

"What would you know about that?" Ben asked angry.

"I know I wouldn't stop fighting until I was either free or dead."

"Manny!" the Kineceleran scolded.

Everyone fell quiet at that. Most stared at Ben, waiting for the former hero to reply, but Ben just stared blankly back at the Tetramand. After a while, he looked away and sighed.

"Alright. I didn't-" Manny started.

"Get me away from here, please."

In her surprise, Gwen let go of the handles of the wheelchair and she stared at her cousin confusedly. Ben just glared at her for a moment, before repeating his question.

"Get me out of here. I want to go back to my room."

"Ben. They just want to help," Gwen told him softly.

"I don't," Ben replied.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don't want to help. And I don't want to be helped. Just… take me back."

That took basically everyone in the room by surprise. The Kineceleran moved forward and stood right in front of Ben.

"If it's what Manny said, you shouldn't take it personally," she told him.
"We just lost my brother in a fight…"

The incredibly sad look she gave him at that made Ben swallow. Guilt flooded him and he had to do his best not to burst into tears. This was the reason why he hadn't wanted to meet these Plumbers. There was just no way he could save all of them. Even with the deal he had with Vilgax there would still be casualties.

"… I wished you hadn't told me that," he muttered.
"Because it doesn't change anything."

The girl seemed shocked by his reaction and moved back to her friend's side, who was now glaring daggers at Ben. Gwen was pretty shocked as well, as she opened her mouth to say something. Ben noticed and quickly shut her up by speaking himself.

"Kevin," he said.
"Can you please bring me back."

"Ben!" Gwen scolded.

"You heard the man," Kevin shrugged, grabbing the handles of the wheelchair.
"Time for Tennyson to have his afternoon nap."

"But-"

"Can you guys do me a favor?" Ben asked his family in a soft voice.
"Don't let anymore Plumbers in. I don't want to see them again."

No one spoke when Ben was lead back to his room. Most of them were deeply shocked by the reaction Ben had given to them being there. They had thought that he would be grateful to be saved by them, to be away from Vilgax. They had expected him to jump at the chance to take down the man that had tortured and raped him for the past 6 years, so when Ben proved to show no interest in defeating Vilgax, they were surprised and angry.

"You really need to work on your people skills dude," Kevin spoke as they were safe in Ben's bedroom.

"The longer I'm here, the more Plumbers Vilgax will kill because of me," Ben muttered sadly.
"I don't need faces to go with that guilt."