Chapter 87: The Infinity Killer: Part Seven

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

Author's Note:

* Hello and welcome to Chapter Eighty Seven, as well as the final part of this story arc!

* Ben is finally going to end things with Clancy and also, Director Steel will be making his return towards the end of this chapter!

* Okay folks, it's that time of year again! I will be posting three more chapters for this story in 2018, starting with this one. So, with nothing else to be said here, let's get right into the chapter!

Ben

Downtown Bellwood

I sprinted across the rooftops of Downtown Bellwood in a fit of anger, as I pulled my mask down over my face. I had abandoned Ken and J.T. at the restaurant, after apologizing for the inconvenience, that is. But then again, what would you do if your girlfriend had been kidnapped by a crazy, psychopathic, murder without your knowledge?

Upon leaving the restaurant, I had run into the alley, opened my backpack and pulled out my gloves. Once I had those on, I began climbing up the wall of the building towards the roof. Once I got up there, I began running across the rooftops as I began changing into my costume. And that brings us around to now.

I brought my backpack back around as I continued to run and pulled out my wrist gauntlets. I put them on and threw the backpack back on and leapt from the roof.

Clancy had really crossed a line this time, I thought. Not that he hadn't crossed a line before, but now I wanted nothing more to kill him. I wanted to end him. But, I did have a plan. I just wasn't sure if I could follow through on it anymore.

About five minutes of swinging, I came to a stop on the top of a building across the street from the tenement building. I stared across the street at the tenement building and after a few seconds, I stood up and pulled my backpack off. I opened it, took out the bug spray contraption as well as the gas mask.

I took off the wrist gauntlet on my left wrist and replaced it with the bug spray contraption. I then took off my mask and replaced it with the gas mask. I then put the wrist gauntlet, as well as my costume's mask back into the backpack. I put my backpack on and stood up to face the tenement building.

I finally fired the wrist gauntlet across the street and the grapple wedged itself into the wall above the hole where the window used to be. I took a breath before getting ready to leap off the roof. I finally let out a grunt of anger as I jumped from the roof and swung towards the window.

I landed through the window, to see Gwen duct taped into a chair and with a gag around her mouth. She stared at me with an intense gaze, as if she thought that she were going to die, which she probably did. Clancy stood behind her, with a knife held up to her throat.

"Let her go!" I exclaimed with agitation in my voice.

Clancy seemed to notice my getup. He lowered the knife and looked at me with a funny expression.

"Dude, it's a little too late for Halloween, isn't it?" he asked as he chuckled.

I didn't budge or crack even the smallest smile.

"Come on, that's not funny?" Clancy asked.

"You let her go, now!" I said. "It's me that you want."

Gwen's gaze seemed to get more intense, as if she were begging me not to bargain with Clancy.

"I don't know, I'm pretty satisfied with what I have right now." He said, moving the knife closer to Gwen's neck once more.

I started to see tears in her eyes.

"I'm giving you one last chance, Clancy." I said. "You let her go and take me instead."

He lowered the knife once more and regarded me with a look this time. He let out a sigh and dropped the knife next to the chair that Gwen was taped into. I saw relief in her eyes.

"You know what, maybe you're right." He said. "Maybe I'd rather take you instead of her."

"Then come get me." I said. "Leave her out of this. Don't punish her for something that I did."

"You know what?" he asked. "You're right."

I let out a sigh of relief.

Thank God, I convinced him, I thought to myself.

But then, I just began to notice him change into his bug form out of my peripheral vision. I looked over out of fear, to see him transform quicker than I'd ever seen. He now stood there in his bug form.

"Besides, you'll make a good appetizer before I take the girl." He said in his demonic voice.

Oh, shit, I thought.

He put his hands out and opened his mouth real wide, showing off his fangs and his long, black tongue. He dropped onto all fours and began to charge over to me. I just stood there, not even trying to move.

Yeah, come get me, I thought.

Bug-Clancy pounced on me and pushed me to the floor, as he let out an angry snarl. He brought his hand down to my chest and I felt his finger talons extend, cutting through the front of my black shirt, again.

"We're going to enjoy this!" he said in an angry demonic voice.

"Tell me something, Clancy." I said as his finger talons dug deeper into my skin. "Why do you remind me so much of Venom?"

"Guess you won't live to find out." He said.

At this point I was pointing the bug spray contraption directly at his chin.

"No, I think I will." I said, before firing the mechanism.

That pull of the trigger discharged all of the contents of all three cans into Bug-Clancy's face, just as Cooper said it would. And as that happened, all of the bugs covering Clancy's body began to die. He got up off of me, bugs falling off of his body as he began to cough uncontrollably. It took a few seconds or so, but eventually there were no more bugs on his body.

He stopped coughing once he saw that he was no longer covered in bugs. I had no idea how all of that bug spray hadn't been lethal to him, because he was standing there now as if he was fine, you know, just minus all the bugs. He finally looked at me and gave me a nervous laugh.

"We can, uh… We can talk about this." He said.

I wasn't sure if he could transform again, but I wasn't going to wait and see. I stepped up to him.

"Good night." I said before I punched him in the middle of his face, which knocked him out.

I now looked at him on the floor, not moving. I let out a sigh of relief as I realized that the nightmare was over. I looked over at Gwen and her eyes said the same thing:

Thank God, that's over.

I sighed once more as I walked over to her to free her.

One Hour Later

I sat in a private tent that the boys from S.E.C.T. had set up, sitting on a bench as one of the S.E.C.T. medics stitched up the new wound in my chest. Five minutes passed, and the medic was closing his kit again.

"Um, thanks again." I said.

"Don't mention it, kid." He said without looking up.

Just then, the tent flaps shook and opened, and Director Steel walked into the tent.

Oh, great, I thought.

"Leave us, Roberts." He said as he stopped to stand by one of the cots in the tent.

The medic looked up and quickly gathered up his med-kit, before saluting the Director.

"Yes, Sir!" he exclaimed.

Roberts left the tent, leaving Director Steel and I alone. Neither of us said a word for about a minute.

"You did good, kid." He said at last.

I said nothing.

"You came through when people needed you." He said.

I stood up and grabbed my black T-shirt.

"Yeah, thanks." I said as I put it on.

He watched as I grabbed my leather jacket and collect my mask and gloves. I walked towards the tent's exit.

"Hey, at least let me finish!" Director Steel said.

"No!" I said as I gave him an angry look. "We're not having this conversation!"

"Sit down, kid!" he said in an even angrier tone that I had used.

I let out a sigh and sat down like he told me.

"Thank you." He said. "I just want to take a minute and thank you."

"You just did." I said as I put both of my gloves on.

"Kid, you're not going to make this easy, are you?" he asked.

I didn't answer.

"I want to thank you for doing my job." He said. "We didn't know where to find this guy or how to beat him."

"How did he do it?" I asked, disregarding his compliment. "How was Clancy able to cover himself with hundreds of bugs and how was he able to survive the amount of toxins from the bug sprays I used?"

"We don't know yet." He said. "And I can't tell you anyway."

I looked up at him.

"You aren't an agent of S.E.C.T." he said. "So, you aren't authorized to know that information."

"Uh-huh." I said. "I know. I'm going to go now."

I walked past Director Steel and towards the exit of the tent.

"Ben, wait!" he said, using my name.

I stopped in my tracks.

"What?" I asked with anger.

"I want you to reconsider." He said. "Now that you're using the Omnitrix again, I really want you to allow me to train you. I think it would help you a lot."

"No." I said without hesitation.

"No?" he asked. "Why?"

I turned around to face him.

"Director Steel, maybe I wasn't clear enough to you a few months ago." I said. "Are you ready? Here I go, so pay attention. I fucking hate you, Director Steel. I hate you, I hate S.E.C.T., I hate everything about you guys."

"Kid, I know you hate me, but you have to give me a chance." He said. "This training could do great things for you."

"See, you weren't listening." I said. "Fuck off, Director Steel. I don't want anything to do with you. I never asked for your help, I never asked for the Omnitrix. This is the worst thing to ever happen to me."

"Kid, I'm telling you right now, you won't regret allowing me to train you." He said. "Can you just think about it?"

I looked down at the floor.

"You lost your chance when your son died." I said at last.

He was silent now.

"Ben?" he asked with concern.

I looked back up and turned around.

"Goodbye, Director Steel." I said, as I turned my head. "I hope the future is kind to you."

I walked out of the tent without another word.

Sometime Later

Gwen and I sat on the top of a building, both of us leaning our backs up against an air conditioning unit, sometime later.

"You did it." Gwen said, giving me a proud smile. "You came through."

I nodded back at her as I smiled at her. Her smile faded.

"You saved my life, Ben." She said. "I have no idea how to thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, Gwen." I said. "You're my girlfriend! What was I going to do, let him kill you?"

She just stared at me, with a pleading look in her eyes. She then did something that doesn't surprise me anymore. She practically lunged at me, tackled me to the floor of the roof and we made out right there. Eventually she pulled away, while keeping her hands wrapped around my neck and regarded me with a loving gaze.

"I love you so much." She said.

I rubbed her cheek.

"I love you, too, Gwen." I said. "Now, can you get off, please? We need to talk."

She gave me a strange look but got off of me regardless. I sat up after that and thought about how to begin.

"Ben?" she asked with concern.

"Are you… okay?" I asked with concern.

She gave me a confused look at first, before her face changed from confused, to serious.

"Ben, I never let him touch me, I swear to God." She said. "He said that he only needed me to lure you to him."

"Do you really believe him?" I asked with concern.

"Are you kidding? Would you believe him?" she asked. "I expected him to do terrible, horrible, unspeakable things to me after he had broken you. That is, if he had been given the chance."

"We agree." I said. "How did it happen? How did he take you?"

"I was walking out of the restaurant that I had gone out to with my friends." She said. "And I walked into an alley to take a shortcut. That's where he found me."

"I'm sorry." I said. "I should have been with you."

"Ben, I'm fine, aren't I?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Ben, it's okay." She said. "Really."

I looked at her with surprise.

"No, Gwen, it's not okay!" I said. "You could have been killed!"

"But, I wasn't!" she said. "I'm still alive and right here, right in front of you!"

I didn't say anything after that. Gwen looked at me with concern.

"Ben?" she asked. "Are you alright?"

You have to tell her, I heard the Omnitrix's voice in my head. This has been bugging you all week. Tell her.

"I never wanted to start dating you." I said at last.

After I said that, she gave me a look of surprise.

"Are y…you going to break up with me?" she asked in an emotional tone.

"No. No, no, no. I don't want to break up with you." I said. "I can't break up with you."

She gave me an offended look.

"Then why would you tell me something like this?" she asked.

"I never wanted to start dating you." I repeated. "Because I was afraid that something like this would happen. And despite all of my attempts to try, it happened anyway."

"You quit." She said. "All of this may as well be your fault anyway."

"Gwen, easy." I said. "You're my girlfriend."

"Yeah. But I could break up with you after all this." She said. "But I'm not going to, because I'm crazy about you, Ben."

"Gwen, I'm sorry that any of this happened." I said as I looked at her. "Despite all of my trying, there is now a man in S.E.C.T. containment, who resents me and knows exactly how to get to me and how to break me."

She snuggled up against me and put her arms around me.

"It's okay." She said. "That guy's in prison now and we don't have to worry about it!"

She sounded happier now, which made me feel better, I guess.

"No, Gwen you don't understand. You were right, okay?" I asked. "You were right, Gwen. All of this, the deaths of Tracy and Ned, my friends, not just acquaintances, this is all my fault."

"No, Ben, it's not your fault!" she said. "You had things that you were going through, and you needed your time, I should have seen that!"

What Gwen just said contradicted what she had just said a minute or so ago.

"Gwen, I screwed up." I said. "You were right, okay? Ned and Tracy's deaths were my fault. I could have done something. I should have done something. But I was too selfish, taking my time to grieve over my best friend's death and I did nothing to help anyone."

"Ben, you needed time." I said. "That's all there is!"

"Gwen, you're not listening." I said. "I have a responsibility using the Omnitrix and I've lost sight of that somewhere. So, it's time for me to rectify certain inequities."

She just stared at me.

"And, I'm not going to be able to be around you as much as I'd like to be from now on." I said.

She gave me a strange look.

"Why?" she asked.

"Clancy could have killed you, but he didn't. But even still, Clancy was a close shave." I said. "So, I have to make sure that this never happens again. I'm going to fight and fight to keep you safe, Gwen. Even if it kills me."

"Ben, that's not necessary." She said. "Maybe you couldn't prevent it, but you did stop Clancy. That's something."

"No, Gwen. He was able to get to you." I said. "I can't allow that to happen again. I have to make sure that no one can get that close to you again."

She just stared at me.

"Ben, I don't know what to say to that." She said.

"I'm sorry." I said.

She just stared down at the floor of the roof. I looked up and at that point, I saw Kevin standing there in the sun. But something was different about this Kevin. Instead of the malnourished Kevin with ragged hair and blood shot eyes that I had been seeing, this was normal Kevin. This Kevin looked just as healthy as he had been the day before he died.

"You know what it is." He said in the clearest, calmest tone possible.

I had just come to a realization. I had a responsibility. Speaking of responsibility, what had Julie written to me in her letter? Something along the lines of power and responsibility. That's it.

Whatever my life has in store for me, I will never forget these words: "With great power, comes great responsibility". This is my gift, my curse. Who am I? I'm Spider-Man. Shit! I mean I'm Alien Guy! Fuck!

Clancy

Several Days Later

S.E.C.T. Controlled Prison

"Here's your lunch, Shitbag." A guard said as he slid a tray of food underneath the cell door to me.

I said nothing, nor did I move in anyway.

"I'm giving you food, Asshole." The guard said. "Say thank you."

I said nothing. Eventually the guard walked away.

"Fucking dick." He said, tapping the bars with his nightstick as he walked away.

As I sat there, staring at my tray of shitty low-level prison food, I began to feel something. I lifted my hand, turned my palm to face me and I saw a few spiders crawling out of the orange colored jumpsuit sleeve. As I saw this, I grinned.

Author's Note:

* And that's the chapter for today!

* What do you think of Ben's final confrontation with Clancy? What do you think of Ben's conversation with Director Steel and later with Gwen? What do you think of Ben's final hallucination of Kevin and the final scene with Clancy, silently confirming that he still has his powers?

* Anyway, that's going to do it for me. I'm going to go though, so have a Bwen-tastic day and bye.

Review Responses

Burntrevenant (Chapter One): Chapter 1 of 76 so far I like it. Will continue reading.

Thanks, Burn. I'm glad that you like it and I'm glad that you will keep reading. Thanks for the review, as always.

Burntrevenant (Chapter Three): Opening a locked door with no explanation how nice ;p

Thanks, Burn. Did I miss an error there? Thanks for the review, as always.

FireSoulKid (Chapter Forty): teen titans. robin and slade lol

Thanks, Fire. Yes, I was going for a huge Teen Titans reference with that chapter. Thanks for the review, as always.

jasongd (Chapter Eleven): And another great chapter congrats "Is it right for Ben to think about quitting again?" I am not surprised In his place I would like to give up to have a normal life for a while "And what do you think Cooper was trying to hide?" Hmmm, I'm not sure, but gheheh, maybe he has a small collection of Julie's photos or porn there or maybe both

Thanks, Jason. Yeah, I'd definitely want to quit if I were in his shoes. And about the second thing you said, um, I'm just not going to say anything about that. Why would you think it's something like that? Um, as always, thanks for the review, I guess?

Brandon (Chapter Eleven): Hey when is next chapter come out

Um, it's here, thanks, Brandon. The next one will come out on Christmas Eve or early Christmas morning and then the third and the final chapter of the year will be here on New Years Eve. Thanks for the review, as always.

Next Chapter: Ben considers a new crime fighting style.