Disclaimer: Bleach and Ben 10 do not belong to me. But maybe, if Ben 10 did, I might make him a much better hero than the current writers do.
I understand a lot of you guys have wanted to see some action. I understand, but my issue is that I suck at being original. I promise that I WILL bring more action into the story after this. There is still going to be romance, but I'll do my best that it doesn't deviate the plot anymore.
Special thanks to Pyromania101 and Kamen Rider Chrome! Happy Fourth of July!
Ben 10 Versus the Ants
"BEN!" Kevin shouted as he hung onto the giant worm for dear life. "JUST PICK SOMETHING!" The worm was massive, with a red segmented body and a mouth that opened four ways. Kevin was in his rock form and had a hold on it while Gwen was holding the thrashing creature in place with ropes made of mana.
"Hurry up! I can't hold it for much longer!" Gwen shouted as she struggled to restrain the worm.
"Okay, Okay!" Ben slapped the Ultimatrix dial down. "Four Arms!" Once in his Tetramand form, he leapt into battle. The worm was no match for Four Arms' awesome strength as the red-skinned alien tied the creature up into a knot. He dusted off his hands and slapped the Ultimatrix emblem to return to normal. "See? No sweat!"
"Okay, now let's just call the Plumbers to pick this guy up," said Gwen as she got out her communicator.
"What's a giant worm doing in Bellwood anyway?" Kevin asked, looking at the creature. "And why a giant worm?"
Kevin," Gwen said. "Considering all the weird stuff we go up against, I consider a giant worm to be relatively normal."
Kevin snorted sarcastically, "A giant worm, normal. Right."
"And to celebrate, how about we go to Mr. Smoothy's?" Ben offered eagerly.
"Sorry, but not tonight, Ben," Gwen apologized. "I'm helping Kevin study."
"Study?" Ben questioned.
"For my GED. Gwen thinks I got a shot at it." Kevin smiled.
"He just needs to apply himself," she said.
"And Gwen's a great teacher. She's been helping me catch up on stuff I missed," Kevin added.
Ben smiled. It was sweet. He shrugged, "Well, your loss. I'll buy some for you guys and drop them off at your place, Gwen."
"That won't be necessary," said Gwen as she got into the car with Kevin.
"Later, Tennyson," waved Kevin before he drove off, leaving Ben behind.
"Okay, well, more smoothies for me," Ben said with a grin as he went over to his own car.
Ben never got enough of Mr. Smoothy's when he arrived. He could barely believe that he used to hate that place when he was a kid. What was he thinking? Today was a scorcher so Ben decided it was best to just go inside. He went over to the counter to place his order. The cashier had their back turned to him but Ben could tell from the curves of her body that it was a woman. He was about to get her attention when she called to them.
"I'll be with you in a minute," the girl said. She certainly didn't sound happy judging from her tone. But Ben blinked when he heard the voice. Was it just him or did that voice sound just like…
The cashier turned around and Ben's jaw dropped when he saw the Mr. Smoothy's employee.
"Welcome to Mr. Smoothy's," said Apacci, donned in a Mr. Smoothy's uniform and hat. "May I take your-BEN!?"
"Apacci?" Ben blinked. "What are you doing here?" He looked at what she was wearing. "You work here!?"
"Yeah," she said, blushing as she tried to avert her gaze. "Um…would you like to order something?"
"Oh, right. I'll have the Tropical Punch," Ben said. The shock of seeing one of his girlfriends work here kind of shocked him out of his normal choices for smoothies.
"One Tropical Punch, coming up," Apacci said. She grabbed a large cup and immediately filled it to the brim. Ben pulled some money out and handed it to Apacci. She quickly put it into the register and handed Ben his drink and change.
"Oh, and I'd like to know why you're working here," he added.
"I leave work in half an hour. I'll tell you then," Apacci said, looking around as if afraid someone else might spot her.
"I can wait till then," Ben said. He took his drink and change and headed out the door. He cast a backwards glance at Apacci, who looked like she wanted to sink into the floor. Of course he wasn't sure why she was so upset. Working at Mr. Smoothy's sounded like a pretty good job to him.
(30 MINUTES LATER)
"So," began Ben as the two sat at one of the outdoor Mr. Smoothy tables. "Why are you working here?"
"Well, I've been looking for a job," said Apacci. She and Mila Rose were the last two to look for jobs.
"And Mr. Smoothy's was your first choice?" Ben was surprised. Despite his fondness for the place, he didn't picture it as a place Apacci would want to work at.
"Not exactly." Apacci scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "I tried in a few places before this. I was a waitress at a diner and then I was mopping floors at the Burger Shack. But I got fired from both."
"How come?" Ben asked and she glowered. "Do I even want to know?"
"I was being sexually harassed so I defended myself," Apacci said, her fists clenching. She recalled how some of the customers and former coworkers treated her. "But…it was a little over the top and while the jerks got the point I was fired."
Ben frowned, "That's not fair." He felt a surge of protectiveness. Some jerks had the nerve to treat his girlfriend like that? Ever since the date with Mila Rose, Ben had started accepting that the girls were indeed his girlfriends.
"It's fine, Ben. I was sick of those places anyway," Apacci said. "At least here the staff is nice." She smiled at him. "And since this is your favorite hangout I get to see you, which is a bonus."
Ben smiled, "Okay, that sounds great." Then a thought occurred to him. It was Apacci's turn to get a date. And he had a feeling she would really enjoy that. "So, are you doing anything Friday night?"
Apacci's eyes widened. 'Is he going to…?' "I have the night off on Friday," she said, mentally chiding herself for becoming nervous.
"Great," Ben grinned. "Because I'm free too. So… wanna go out?"
"Yes!" Apacci nearly squealed then quickly composed herself. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."
"Come on. Let me give you a ride home."
Apacci struggled to fight both the blush on her face and the excitement that was building up within her. She felt like squealing out in happiness but controlled herself. She had embarassed herself enough already in one day.
Meanwhile, back at Gwen's, Kevin and Gwen were going over his work when she asked, "I've noticed you hanging out a lot with Ulquiorra."
"Oh, him? Yeah, we hang out," Kevin shrugged. "He needs to smile more but he's a cool guy once you get to know him."
"I'm sure," Gwen cocked an eyebrow. "What are you up to, Kevin?"
"Just helping out Ben," Kevin said. "Look, it's fine. It's nothing illegal and nobody is going to get hurt, physically anyway."
"Kevin." Gwen's tone was serious, and a warning.
"Just be ready to see it on TV," he grinned.
Gwen crossed her arms. Honestly, she tried to make an honest man of her boyfriend. Still, she did find his roguish charm rather endearing. And if it was for a good cause, she shouldn't have a problem with it. She just wished he'd tell her what exactly he was planning.
Soon Apacci and Ben arrived home. Ben noticed that his mom was outside. Uh-oh. What had he done now? Ben got out the car.
"Hey, mom!" he greeted. "Is something up?"
Sandra gave her son a look. It wasn't the look she usually gave him when he was in trouble. "I had some very interesting guests today."
"Guests?" Ben asked.
"They said their names were Azmuth and Urahara," Sandra explained.
"Azmuth?!" Ben cried.
"Urahara?!" Apacci shouted at the same time.
Sandra nodded. "It was when you all went to school. I heard a knock at the door…"
Sandra Tennyson opened the door and blinked as she saw Kisuke Urahara and Azmuth who was sitting on the man's shoulder.
"Greetings, Mrs. Tennyson. What a nice day," said Urahara as he took off his hat and bowed. "I am Kisuke Uruhara and this is Azmuth. We were in the neighborhood and decided to drop by."
"Actually, we used my teleportation device to drop us off here" corrected Azmuth.
"Hello," she greeted awkwardly. Even with all the alien activity, Sandra still found these strange situations a little awkward. "If you're both looking for Ben, he's out right now."
"Actually, we're not here for Ben," said Azmuth. "We're here to help you with your guests' living arrangements."
For a while now, the girls had been sleeping in the living room, but they had a lot of stuff and needed a bit more privacy. Just putting their stuff in the guest room wouldn't be enough as they each needed their own space.
Despite the whole strangeness of this situation, if these two could help, she would welcome it.
"And that should do it," said Urahara as he put the door up against the wall.
"You know, for a Shinigami, you're quite intelligent," remarked Azmuth.
"Yeah, I get that a lot," Urahara admitted.
"I'm sorry, but you just put a door on my wall," said Sandra. "How will this help?"
Urahara smiled and opened the door. Sandra peered at the hallway that stretched out from the door, the hallway's walls lined with doors on either side. Her jaw hung open
"This door is a portal to a separate dimension, which is where the girl's rooms will be," explained Urahara. "If you've seen my shop's basement, you'd know that this is like that."
"And these will be the girls' rooms?" asked Sandra.
"Yes," said Azmuth, "Individual living spaces for them and privacy. I do know that young women value their privacy."
"We do," admitted Sandra. "The girls are going to love this."
"I'm sure they will," grinned Urahara.
Apacci and Ben just stood dumbfounded as Sandra finished her story. The two ran inside to see there was in fact a door in the wall. Apacci flung it open and her jaw dropped and the wide space within.
"They really did it," she said. Apacci ran inside to inspect just how big the place was. "This. Is. Awesome! The others are gonna love this!"
"It does make housing a bit easier," Sandra said. "I'm sure you girls were tired of sleeping together in the living room."
"I've got to tell Mila Rose, Sung-Sun, and Harribel-sama!" Apacci said eagerly. She grabbed her cellphone, one that she and the other girls had been supplied with courtesy of Max Tennyson. He figured the girls could use them. Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun simply kept in contact with each other and Harribel. Nellilel had used her phone to keep in contact with her friends from the bookstore. Apacci started typing a text message to them. Sandra on the other hand gave Ben a smile.
"Ben, would you be a dear and move the girls' stuff into their new rooms, please?" Ben made a face but Sandra still had her smile. "Ladies love a man who's willing to carry stuff for them." While Sandra was still adjusting to her son having five girlfriends, she did get a few ribbings out of it.
Ben snorted as he started gathering the girls' stuff. "I've been reduced to a luggage man in my own house." He started gathering their clothes but his face turned red when he spotted one of the girls' discarded panties. "Uh…I think I'm gonna need some help."
Sandra noticed what Ben was looking at and frowned. She had a feeling it might've been Mila Rose or Apacci's. Thank goodness the girls were getting their own rooms. Give Ben a little less temptation than them sleeping in the living room.
Upon returning and seeing for themselves, needless to say, the girls absolutely adored the extra rooming. They each took one for themselves and saw this as an opportunity to decorate it as they saw fit.
Of course, when Apacci added that she was going on date with Ben, everyone's attention was on her.
"So," Mila Rose said. "Have you decided where you're going with Ben on your date?"
"Not yet," Apacci said. "But we have till Friday so…"
Mila Rose grinned. "I wonder how hot it'll get on your date."
Apacci's face got hot at her implications. Mila Rose had proudly showed them all the bite marks she said Ben had given her and then she made Ben show them the bite marks she had given him. The girls had all been taken aback by this but at the same time they were excited that Ben was becoming more intimate in their relationship. Mila Rose smirked. Time to share a little bit of information she hadn't told the others…yet.
"Did you know Ben and I bathed together?" she teased. Apacci and Sung-Sun's eyes widened.
"You did what?!" Apacci screeched, suddenly grateful that Sandra had gone out shopping.
Feeling smug, Mila Rose went on. "Not only that, but we made out naked." She wished Sung-Sun's sleeve wasn't blocking her mouth. She wanted to see if it was hanging open like Apacci's. "He even grabbed my butt and groped my breasts. Ben can be such a beast with proper coaxing."
Apacci and Sung-Sun's faces closely resembled over ripe tomatoes. Ben had been so…shy when they were first starting out and now he was doing stuff like that?! And to be honest, the two were rather jealous their comrade got to have such an experience and they didn't.
"B-but what about what Sandra said?!" Apacci argued.
"She said we couldn't have sex," Mila Rose pointed out. "She never said anything about bathing together."
"I have a feeling she would have," Sung-Sun said.
Mila Rose shrugged. "Ah, well. What she doesn't know…"
Apacci and Sung-Sun frowned. While they certainly would have enjoyed having a moment like that with Ben, they didn't feel right going behind Sandra's back like that. Still, both girls were trying really hard to block out fantasies involving them in Mila Rose's place.
"Who knows," Mila Rose went on. "You and Ben might get some heavy petting on Friday, Apacci."
Apacci shook her head furiously before even more fantasies started playing in her mind.
Mila Rose chuckled. "You're really looking forward to Friday now, aren't you?"
"S-shut up, Mila Rose!" Apacci snapped loudly.
"She didn't deny it," Sung-Sun added, deciding to keep Mila Rose from focusing on her.
"Can it, Sung-Sun!" Apacci yelled. "You're just as bad!" She was still sore about when Sung-Sun got a date before her and Mila Rose.
"Me? Just as bad? I'm afraid you're mistaken. I would approach Ben with poise and grace, unlike you two who would simply throw yourselves on him like animals in heat."
"What was that?!" Both girls yelled angrily.
Just then Harribel walked in. The girls noticed that she looked deep in thought.
"Is something wrong, Harribel-sama?" Sung-Sun asked.
Harribel looked up. "I…have something to tell you three."
The girls looked at each other, confused, before looking back at their mistress.
"Girls…you remember that Yoruichi said the Gotei 13 will declare Ben a threat?"
The girls nodded grimly.
"I have decided to prepare myself in the event that happens," Harribel went on. "Ulquiorra is going to teach me how to obtain the Segunda Etapa."
"The Segunda what?" Apacci asked, unfamiliar with the term.
"A second level of Resurreccion," Harribel explained. The girls' eyes widened. "Ulquiorra has proven that such a thing exists and is going to show me how to use it. And once I've obtained it…I'm going to teach it to you three as well."
The girls exchanged incredulous looks with each other. To obtain such a power…it was almost too much. The girls looked at her.
"We need to unlock our full potential if we are to have a chance fighting the Gotei 13," Harribel went on. "Do you wish to learn how to obtain this power?"
The girls exchanged one more look with each other and in a moment, their decision was made.
"We'll do it, Harribel-sama," the girls said unanimously.
Harribel nodded in content. Then she looked at Apacci. "I heard you're going on a date with Ben Friday, Apacci. I hope you two enjoy it."
Apacci blushed again as Mila Rose and Sung-Sun both laughed.
"But first," Harribel went on. "We should go shopping. I believe you three would like to add some decor to your rooms now that you have your own?"
The girls' lit up faces was all the answer that Harribel needed.
But unknown to Ben's little group, trouble was once again coming their way.
(PLUMBER HOLDING FACILITY, MT. RUSHMORE)
Inside a cell was a man, who looked like a homeless person. He wore a dirty jacket over a dark green hoodie with the hood up, torn up jeans, and boots. He also wore fingerless gloves. He had an unkempt beard and hair. Around his neck was a collar.
He was known as Clancy, the Bug Man, and he was one of Ben's first enemies back at age 10. Clancy had the ability to communicate with and control insects. When the city officials tried to tear down the condemned building he'd been living in, he violently retaliated. Ben managed to defeat him. He then joined the group known as the Negative 10 made up of the other villains young Ben had defeated, becoming mutated with the help of Dr. Animo. Now, he was truly a part of his family. He had also learnt how to revert to his human form and shift between both forms at will.
He'd been locked away by the Plumbers for 5 years but now he was going to escape. His cell prevented him from communicating with insects on the outside, but what the Plumbers were unaware of were the ants that would just find their way in and some of them found their way to Clancy. For five years Clancy spoke to the ants, controlling the colony, waiting.
And now was the time to strike.
"So…you're taking Apacci out next?" Kevin asked Ben over the phone.
"Yeah," Ben said. "I'm looking forward to it."
Gwen, who was listening in, smiled. "It sounds like you're finally adjusting to all this."
"Well…I guess it's because I've gone on dates with all of them. Err…almost."
"Good to see you're starting to step up," Kevin joked.
Ben rolled his eyes. Kevin was never going to let him live this down.
"Make sure it's some place special," Gwen added. "Apacci deserves it for waiting so long."
Ben knew she had a point. Apacci had waited long enough.
"Don't worry," he assured them. "I'll think of something."
It was finally Friday and Apacci had been restless the whole week. She would finally have her date with Ben. While she was excited, she was also nervous too. What would their date be like? Would she enjoy it? Would Ben enjoy it? Since he had already been through four dates with the other girls, Apacci didn't know if their date would be just as special. Mila Rose and Sung-Sun's ribbing of her didn't help matters either.
Apacci threw the covers off and got out of bed. She still had trouble believing that she had gotten a room of her own as her feet touched the carpeted floor. She was still having trouble picking out what she wanted to put in. Back when she was part of Aizen's army, everything was…white. Being in the human world gave her a chance to broaden her horizons. There were a few music groups she was into, but not to the point of putting up posters of them like some girls. She did paint her walls red and black to give them a bit of color though. She got dressed for the day and headed down for breakfast. Ben and Sung-Sun were already there.
"Morning, Apacci," Ben greeted. Apacci noticed the warm smile he was giving her and felt her face grow hot. She was used to the looks other guys would give, but they were nothing compared to the ones Ben gave her. Sung-Sun noticed this and chuckled. Apacci angrily tried to kick her under the table but Sung-Sun moved out of the way. Apacci grit her teeth to prevent crying out. Mila Rose soon came to join them, her moist hair indicating she had gotten out of the shower. Apacci bristled when Mila Rose planted a kiss on Ben's cheek before sitting down to eat. Ben resumed eating but there was a small hint of red on his face.
"What?" Mila Rose asked the glowering Apacci. "Just because you're the one on the date doesn't mean I can't show affection. He's my boyfriend too."
Apacci was about to give a scathing remark when Sung-Sun interrupted. "Well in that case," she leaned forward and planted her own kiss on Ben's other cheek. Apacci looked like she was about to explode.
"What? You can show him affection too," Sung-Sun went on. "We won't stop you."
Ben frowned. "Come on, girls. Leave her alone." Mila Rose and Sung-Sun backed off immediately. The last thing they wanted was Ben getting upset with them for any reason.
Apacci on the other hand was mentally chiding herself. She wasn't acting like…well, her. She was a proud Arrancar warrior under Harribel-sama. So why was she being so timid now?
"Morning!" Nelliel bounced into the room happily. Ben turned his head and Nellilel used that opportunity to give him a little peck right on the lips. Apacci was lucky that she wasn't holding her glass otherwise she would have shattered it by now.
As for Ben…well, if his mornings were more like this…he could get used to it. But, the fact that he was enjoying the attention irritated Apacci even more. She got up from her seat and stormed off to her room. Mila Rose and Sung-Sun sighed, Nelliel looked at everyone else, wondering if she did something wrong, and Ben looked in the direction Apacci went with concern.
"Stupid Mila Rose!" Apacci yelled, punching the wall of her room. "Stupid Sung-Sun! Stupid Nelliel!" She stomped back and forth. "Kissing him like that…right in front of me! Who do they think they are?" Then she grudgingly remembered that they were Ben's girlfriends as well. Apacci crossed her arms and huffed. She couldn't help if she didn't really do those affectionate things. Sure there was that one time in Hueco Mundo but she had been caught up in the heat of the moment.
With that, doubt and worry started to creep into Apacci's mind. In her eyes, Ben had seemed eager to spend time with the other girls but not so much with her. Did…did he even like her? He had agreed to the sharing thing to make them all happy, but that didn't have to mean that he actually had feelings for all of them. Apacci stared at the ground before shaking her head. No, she couldn't believe that. If Ben didn't feel that way for her, he'd tell her instead of leading her along. Apacci sighed. She'd better get her stuff together for school. She opened her door…and froze when she saw Ben standing there, his hand raised as if he was about to knock.
"Ben!" Had he heard anything she had said?
"Hey, Apacci," Ben said softly. "Are you alright?"
Apacci cursed herself as her cheeks started to warm. She did not want to look pathetic in front of her crush. "Yeah…sorry about that."
Feeling that it would be the right thing to do, Ben leaned forward and kissed Apacci's cheek. Apacci's eyes doubled in size, staring at Ben.
"No problem, Apacci." He smiled at her. "Come on. We'd better get to school."
Apacci nodded slowly. "I'll…I'll go get my stuff."
Ben nodded and left. Apacci closed her door and started gathering her school supplies. But as she did so, a small smile worked its way to her face.
Harribel looked on with satisfaction at her classroom. Everything was all set and ready for the day. She heard a knock at her door. Harribel turned her head. "Come in."
The door opened and, much to her surprise, Findor came in. Needless to say, she had been wary when he and Vega had been enrolled in the school but so far they were on their best behavior. Well, in Vega's case it was more around tolerable. Luckily, the two wound up attracting lots of female attention. Ever since Ben appeared to be taken by Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun, girls went to those two Arrancar like moths to flame.
"Hello, Harribel," Findor said, his tone full of sadness and worry.
"What brings you here, Findor?" Harribel asked. Despite being former enemies, she still treated him civilly.
"I wish to talk to you about the others," Findor said. "Vega, Poww, and Nirgge."
Harribel's eyes narrowed. "You feel that they still hate Ben?"
"Exacta," Findor said with a sigh. "They consider it an insult to be have been spared by a human and living under the conditions we do."
"And you do not?" Harribel couldn't help but question.
"I understand," Findor replied. "If it wasn't for Ben's mercy, we would all have been dead. Even if we went to Hueco Mundo, do you think Grimmjow would show such generosity?"
Harribel highly doubted Grimmjow would.
"We do not live the way we did in Las Noches," Findor went on. "But considering our actions, that is understandable. Also, I know it would be foolish to try and kill someone who has Shinigami and Espada as his allies."
"So are you doing this out of gratitude for Ben? Or self-preservation?"
"A little bit of both," Findor admitted. "Ben allowed me to live. I am in his debt. And in a sense, your debt too."
Harribel simply looked off in the distance, not saying anything.
"I would like to help in any way that I can," Findor added.
"Thank you, Findor," Harribel said. "I appreciate you telling me this."
Findor gave a bow and turned around to leave. Harribel sat at her desk as she weighed Findor's words.
"Those three, Loly, the Gotei 13." She shook her head. "So many enemies." Harribel frowned. "Loly and Menoly have not been seen for days now. And I haven't been able to sense their reiatsu. Did they retreat to Hueco Mundo…or have they found a way to mask their presence from us?" Despite the sheer power all of Ben's Arrancar allies had, a sneak attack, even from a weaker opponent, could be devastating.
"I should tell Starrk and Ulquiorra about this."
After school, Ben knew he should head home and get ready for his date. Despite her attempts to hide it, Ben could see that Apacci was nervous but excited about it. He wanted to make sure she got a special one.
But his musing was interrupted by a beeping on his Ultimatrix. Curiously he opened the communications link. "Hello?"
"Ben," Grandpa Max's voice said. "We have a situation."
Ben deadpanned. "Of course, we do." Typical life of a hero. "Alright, what's up?"
"Clancy's escaped." Max answered grimly.
Ben's eyes widened. "The bug guy?! Man, I haven't seen him since I was a kid. Still a big bug mutant?"
"He apparently learned how to change his appearance at will," Max explained. "I'm putting all available Plumbers on alert but it is likely he'll come after you."
Ben groaned. "Just what I need, my date with Apacci ruined by a guy with a bug fetish."
"You're going on a date with Apacci now?" Max asked curiously. "Well, who knows? She can take care of herself and could help in taking Clancy down…if he does choose to target you."
Ben grinned. His grandfather had a point: he and Apacci could totally take down Clancy while still enjoying their date. He had done the same thing with Nelliel, Sung-Sun, and Mila Rose. Ben had to admit…it was pretty nice having a girlfriends that could fight alongside you. Made dating a whole lot easier.
"I'll let Starrk know too," Max said. "Going up against one of your old foes might do him some good."
Ben laughed. "Grandpa, Clancy is small fry compared to most of the baddies I've fought. Starrk won't have any problem with him."
"Don't underestimate him, Ben," Max warned. "Having the ability to control insects can be very dangerous if used right. Remember when he almost caused that nuclear explosion?"
Ben shrugged. That was true, but he had a much wider variety of aliens since the last time he and Clancy duked it out. "Don't worry, Grandpa. If I run into that guy, he's going down."
"Good luck, Ben!" Max said before ending the communications.
Ben headed towards his car, where the girls were already waiting. While the girls of Bellwood accepted Ben being taken, Ben noticed several guys glaring at him for having three beauties sitting against his car.
"You girls ready to go?" Ben asked. All three girls nodded and hopped in once Ben unlocked the car. As they drove off, Apacci couldn't resist sneering and waving at the still glaring boys outside. Mila Rose, who was sitting next to her, nudged her with her elbow.
"Girls, we have a bit of a problem," Ben said.
Apacci gave Ben her full attention. Did something come up that would cancel their date?
"One of my old enemies escaped from his prison," Ben went on. "His name's Clancy and he has the power to control bugs."
"Heh," Apacci said, relieved so far that their date wasn't canceled. "Doesn't sound all that impressive to me."
"It's a lot more dangerous that it sounds," Ben said. "He can control any kind: ants, bees, spiders, cockroaches, and he can control entire swarms of them."
Apacci's confident smirk slipped at hearing that.
Sung-Sun frowned. "Insects are dangerous in great numbers. It reminds me of a book we had to read in class, Leiningen Versus the Ants. Imagine if this Clancy could take command of an army of ants so large that their sheer numbers stretched for miles."
Mila Rose and Apacci looked at each other uneasily.
"I'm gonna tell the others about this too," Ben went on. "Any of you guys can probably handle him…I just want to make sure you don't get carried away."
"So…does this mean our date's off?" Apacci asked.
"Nah, we're still going," Ben assured her. "I just wanted to let you all know what we might expect."
Mila Rose frowned. "First Loly and Menoly…now this bug guy. I was actually enjoying the peace and quiet for once."
"That's what happens when you're a hero," Ben said. "You learn to appreciate the moments 'cause they sure don't last long."
The girls all nodded, knowing that Ben always saved the day…only to do it again shortly after.
"Speaking of Loly and Menoly," Ben realized. "They haven't tried anything for a while now. I thought Loly would be after me for sure."
"Maybe whatever you did with Toepick permanently traumatized her?" Apacci suggested, but regretted it when Ben cringed.
"Sheesh," Ben said. "I know she wasn't exactly Miss Sunshine, but…I can't help but feel sorry for her."
The girls were…not so worried. In their opinion, Loly was sick in the head and the less they saw of her, the better.
When Ben and the girls got home, he informed Harribel and Nelliel, who got off early, of the situation. Harribel frowned at hearing of another one of Ben's foes. She debated whether or not to inform Ben about what Findor had informed her. She decided to wait until Ben and Apacci had returned from their date.
Later that evening, Ben and Apacci headed out. Having said their goodbyes to everyone, the two hopped in Ben's car.
"So…where are we going, Ben?" Apacci wondered as they drove down the road. She noticed Ben recommended she wear a jacket. It wasn't really a cold night out.
"We're going to the Bellwood Ice Rink," Ben replied.
Apacci blinked. "The Ice Rink? Are we going ice skating?" She had often wondered what it would be like to skate on ice.
"Yep," Ben smiled at her. "I saw you watching that ice skating competition once."
Apacci shrugged. "I'm not into all that dancing around and stuff, but it would be kinda cool to actually skate on ice."
Ben laughed. "Then I hope you'll like it."
Apacci gave a little smile back. To be honest, she wasn't all that into overly romantic stuff. The ice skating did sound like it would be a little fun. though.
The Bellwood Ice Rink was a huge, dome-shaped building. It was a place for people who wanted to escape the heat and skate on ice. This was also where the local ice hockey games and some figure skating contests took place. Once the car was parked, Apacci followed Ben inside the building. Ben rented their skates and they headed further inside the building where the ice was. There was an area with benches to sit down on while putting on their skates and racks to put up their shoes.
Sitting on a bench, Apacci just stared at the skates like they were an alien life-form. Looking at them, she didn't even have a single clue on how to use them. She knew how to put on shoes, and boots, but these things had blades attached to the bottom of the soles to allow people to easily glide across the ice.
When Apacci and Ben made it to the ice rink, Apacci had been surprised by how big it was. People in Bellwood must really enjoy ice skating. Ben explained how on certain days, some people would use it to practice hockey or figure skating. But today, it was just for people to skate for fun. She looked at the ice to see couples and individuals skating, mostly couples. They looked like they were having a good time. She then watched as Ben was lacing up his own skates and quickly put hers on.
"All right," said Ben as he stood up, stumbling a bit as he walked to her. He extended his hand to her. "Let's go, okay?"
"…Right," she said, uncertainly and softly, which was completely unlike her. She got up and together they walked towards the ice. Apacci stared at it then composed herself. She put her right foot upon the ice...and nearly slipped backwards. Fortunately, Ben was right there ready to catch her. Her face was red in embarrassment from such a display. Fortunately, Mila Rose and Sung-Sun were not there to tease her. It would've been worse if Harribel had been present.
"Let's do this a step at a time, OK?" he asked and she nodded. He helped her onto the ice, still holding her hand. This was humiliating. She was a mighty Arrancar warrior, a Fraccion of Harribel, and here she was being threatened by ice! Ben released her hand and smiled at her.
"Look, it's easy," he said as he demonstrated for her. "Just push yourself forward with one foot." Apacci nodded and copied his example. Unfortunately, she had pushed herself too strongly.
Apacci's arms flailed about as she tried to regain balance. She then bumped into Ben who caught her. She grit her teeth in anger and fought back against making one of her typical rants. Ben had taken her here to have fun and she couldn't even keep her balance for five minutes.
"You okay?" Ben asked softly.
"No," Apacci grumbled, trying to hide her blush from Ben's eyes.
"You're doing better than me when I first started," Ben encouraged her. Grandpa Max had taken him and Gwen ice-skating during that fateful summer years ago. While Gwen had done well, Ben had not. "I fell on my butt so many times I couldn't sit down for a week."
That made Apacci smile a little, thinking of Ben falling over and over again in comical ways. It was funny.
"Here," Ben said, holding her against him. "We'll skate together for a little bit and then you can try doing it on your own."
Apacci certainly didn't mind skating with Ben, but she was afraid that it would show others just how bad she was. But, as she looked at other couples were skating close together, she figured she could pull it off like that.
"Sure," she said.
Ben smiled. He held Apacci close to him, bringing her blush back. "Now, take small steps. Here, like this: one, two, three. One, two, three…"
Apacci started moving her legs in the way Ben was showing her how to. With Ben holding her like this, she wasn't going to fall.
"You're doing great, Apacci!" Ben cheered.
Apacci, seeing that she was getting better, started going back to her arrogant self. "Of course. Once I got the hang of it, it was nothing!"
Ben just rolled his eyes playfully. "Come on. Let's go skating around for a bit."
"I'll race you!" Apacci grinned, suddenly pushing herself off of Ben and skating ahead. Ben thought she was going to fall down again but it didn't happen. Ben grinned now.
"You're going down, Apacci!" He taunted and started skating after her.
Apacci just laughed teasingly as Ben chased her around the rink. Unfortunately she knocked several of the other patrons off their feet during their little chase.
"Sorry!" Ben called back to the glaring skaters as they tried to pick themselves up from the ice. "Apacci!" He called. "Watch where you're going!"
Apacci flinched at his tone. To be honest, she wasn't really bothered about the people she accidentally knocked over. But she didn't want Ben getting mad at her. "Sorry!" She told him.
Meanwhile…at the local Comedy Club
It was another hangout for people who wanted to have a good laugh. On a Friday night, it was not short of customers, especially since their best act was on.
Kevin and Ulquiorra were sitting together at a table. The former 4th Espada watched Nelliel's Fraccions' performance with a neutral expression. They were doing a combination of stand-up and slapstick. However, humor was definitely a foreign concept for Ulquiorra.
"I fail to understand why people get such amusement from these antics," he told Kevin, who had just laughed at something Dondochakka did. "Why do humans find such amusement when someone injures themselves? And Pesche's jokes make absolutely no sense."
Said Osmosian shook his head sadly. Emotions usually came natural to people. Getting an emotionless being to feel emotions was proving to be pretty tricky. But, their working together to bring down Harangue caused Kevin to see Ulquiorra as something of a friend. And he wanted the former Espada to actually enjoy life instead of going through a droll existence.
"Shouldn't we be focusing on more important matters?" Ulquiorra asked, his voice trying to reach Kevin over the audience's laughter. "Such as Will Harangue?"
Kevin sighed. "Ulquiorra, you need to learn to live a little. Have fun. Enjoy yourself." Ulquiorra gave Kevin a blank look. Kevin noticed it and sighed. "Come on, man. You can't spend your life like this."
Ulquiorra closed his eyes. "I have always been like this for as long as I can remember...even as a Hollow."
"Doesn't mean it's impossible for you to have fun," Kevin said. "Okay, maybe stand-up wasn't the best thing to start with. But I am going to find something for you to actually enjoy."
Ulquiorra sighed. "I wonder what that will be." For the time being, he decided to simply watch Pesche and Dondochakka, trying to figure out the meaning behind their humor and why people found it so amusing.
After skating a little longer, the two went to take a breather. Ben had gone to the rink's concession stand and got them some food and drink. He helped himself to a hot dog while Apacci ate a hamburger.
"That was pretty fun," Apacci said. "Thanks for taking me."
"No prob," Ben said after taking a drink. "I'm glad you liked it."
Apacci twiddled her thumbs, trying to think of what else to bring to the conversation. "So…" she said.
Ben noticed the hesitant look on her face. "What's wrong, Apacci?"
The truth was that Apacci had been looking forward to one part of their date. But she didn't know when it would happen. She wanted to ask but feared Ben would think her being too forward.
"Well…" But she was interrupted by a scream. "What the…?!" She and Ben turned to the girls' restroom door, where several girls ran out screaming. Some were brushing something off of them. Just then another scream came from the boys' restroom door.
"Cockroaches!" one girl cried. "Cockroaches everywhere!"
Ben paled. "Oh, no." He got up. "Everyone get out of here, now!"
But it was too late, cockroaches started crawling out of the bathroom doors. Everyone started running away screaming from the swarm.
"Ugh," Apacci cringed in disgust. "That Clancy guy?"
"Definitely," Ben said. "Well, guess its time to put these guys on ice. I'm going Big Chill." Ben activated the Omnitrix.
"Don't!" Apacci cried.
"Why?" Ben asked. The cockroaches were getting closer and he had to go Hero now.
"Big Chill is like an insect!"Apacci argued. "What if that Clancy guy controls you?"
Ben never thought of that before…and he was not in the mood to test that theory. "Okay, let's try something else." He slammed the dial down. When the flash of light was gone, Ben was now Water Hazard. He raised his hands and fired gushers of water at the oncoming swarms. "Looks like they're all washed up." He looked to see all the people evacuating the place. "We need to get out of here and find Clancy!"
Apacci nodded and the two ran out of the ice rink. Water Hazard looked around for any sign of his foe. His attention was drawn to the sounds of buzzing. Lots and lots of buzzing. He turned to see swarms of wasps flying towards them. "Get to the car and lock the door, Apacci!"
"What?!" Apacci snapped. "You think I'm just gonna stand around and let you do all the fighting? Forget it!"
Water Hazard turned his head to argue with her when he saw her soul form leave her body. He quickly caught her gigai. Apacci pulled her chakrams from her collars and threw them at the swarm of wasps, which were sliced and diced by the attack.
"You think I wasn't going to bring a way to leave my gigai?" Apacci asked with a smirk.
"I'll admit that's handy," Water Hazard said, carrying Apacci's gigai to his car. "But try to tone it down some. You might wind up destroying more than Clancy does."
Apacci made a face. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"You have a problem with restraint," Water Hazard replied.
Apacci looked like she was about to retort when they heard screaming coming from around Bellwood. Water Hazard's eyes widened. "Get in the car!" Apacci and Ben, who turned back to normal, hopped inside. Apacci adjusted her gigai in the back while she sat in her spirit body in the passenger side. Ben floored his car further into Bellwood. He and Apacci were struck speechless when they saw bugs of all kinds all over the place. Flies, wasps, termites…
"How…how could he have gotten so many?" Apacci was speechless. Of course the insects weren't much of a threat to her outside her gigai, but seeing the vast amount of insects really unnerved her.
"I don't know," Ben said. "But I've got to stop them." His eyes widened when he saw a nearby pedestrian screaming by, his body covered in ants. Without thinking, Ben flung the door open, activated the Omnitrix, and turned into XLR8. He started dashing around the man super fast, creating a whirlwind that blew the ants off.
"Th…thank you," The man said weakly. XLR8 looked at the havoc going on.
XLR8 grimaced, "This is bad. Clancy was never this powerful. Guess he got stronger over the years."
"Ben!"
XLR8 turned his head to see Gwen, Kevin, and the others running toward them. Gwen started shooting blasts of mana to keep the bugs at bay.
"I don't suppose anybody has a big can of Raid?" Kevin said, absorbing metal from a nearby lamppost and squashing the bugs with his hammer fist.
"How should we stop them?" Harribel asked. "We risk damage to the city and there are so many."
"We need to find Clancy," XLR8 said.
"Defeating him won't guarantee that the insects will just go away," Ulquiorra told him.
"At least I can try," XLR8 argued. "You guys focus on taking care of the bugs and helping anyone in trouble. I'll look for Clancy and take him down."
"Good luck, Ben," Gwen.
"You guys too," XLR8 said. He sped off.
Ulquiorra looked at the numerous bugs. "It seems we were given the more difficult task."
"Ben knows what he's doing," Nelliel told Ulquiorra. "Let's believe in him and help these people out."
XLR8 covered all the places he could think of. Where could Clancy be? Why hadn't he confronted him directly? Then again, having armies of bugs, direct confrontation probably wasn't necessary.
"Come on, Ben, think!" XLR8 told himself. "Where would a guy that controls, and turns into a bug, go?" Just then XLR8 paused. He slammed the dial on his chest and turned into Jetray, taking off into the sky. A bird's eye view would help him out. "Now where are you?" Hearing an all too familiar noise, Jetray turned to see another swarm of insects coming at him. But he recognized them as mosquitoes. And a lot of them. Great. Enough of those bloodsuckers and he'd really be in trouble. He prepared to fire a neuroshock blast at them when he was suddenly tackled from behind. Jetray struggled to escape the grasp of his mysterious assailant but the attacker's grip was strong. He knew right away who it was.
"Alright, Clancy. You're going down!"
He shot forward, the sudden action taking his opponent by surprise. Jetray turned to face his opponent. Sure enough, it was none other than Clancy, in his mutant bug form. "Oh, man, Clancy. The years have not been kind." Jetray prepared to fire his neuroshock beams when he saw the mosquitoes flying towards him. He started flying backwards, shooting beams from both his eyes and his tail. But the swarm distracted him from Clancy, allowing the bug man to punch him right in the gut. Jetray angrily fired Clancy with his beams. Said villain fell from the blast to the ground. Jetray landed as Clancy started getting up to his feet. The bug man glared at the symbol on Jetray's chest.
"We remember you," Clancy said, taking Jetray by surprise. Clancy hadn't been known to talk in his bug form. "You ruined our home, our lives. We will make you suffer!"
"Now where have I heard that before?" Jetray joked. Clancy opened his mouth and live insects fired out in a swarm. Jetray cringed as he flew up to dodge the attack. "Forgot about that." He slammed the dial again and became Swampfire. "Let's see how you like this!"
He fired flames at the bug man, who screamed both in pain and fear. His little friends buzzed around madly, fearing the flames as well. Hearing scuttling, Swampfire turned around to see more insects coming to where they were. Clancy must have been summoning them to protect himself.
"Fire won't stop us!" Clancy yelled at Swampfire. "You are only delaying the inevitable!"
"Now I have definitely heard that before!" Swampfire shot back. He started throwing fireballs at the incoming insects. Clancy scream in fury and lunged forward, stabbing his hand right through the Methanosian's chest. An annoyed Swampfire reached behind his back and threw Clancy overhead. The bug man landed just inches away from the flames.
"Give it up, Clancy," Swampfire said.
"Never!" Clancy yelled. "We will never give up until we have ruined your home and you!"
"And you think a little bug problem is gonna do that?" Swampfire asked.
Clancy chuckled. "Little?" He looked over, past the city itself.
Swampfire didn't like where he was going with this. Not certain what the bug guy was planning, Swampfire used his powers to extend his legs. What he saw made him feel like his brain was shut down.
A great black shape was making its way towards Bellwood. Swampfire looked at the chuckling Chancy as he lowered himself back down. "What did you do?!"
"It's over, Ben Tennyson. Your home, your friends, your family...we will take them away from you like you did ours!"
Swampfire glared angrily at Chancy. "Just. Shut. Up!" He punched Clancy with such a blow that the bug man actually flipped over before face planting into the ground. He then slammed the dial, transforming into Jetray and flying off to see what that dark mass heading toward the city was. What he saw horrified him.
They were ants. Hundreds, maybe thousands, or even millions of ants! He flew a little higher to see how far they stretched. They must've gone for miles! Had Clancy been building up this army ever since he got out of prison?! Jetray flew back. He had to warn the others now! He flew back to the city, looking desperately for the others. A flash of light that Jetray recognized in the distance alerted him to Gwen's presence. He flew to Gwen and Kevin.
"Ben!" Gwen called when she found him. "Did you find Clancy?"
"I did but we've got a bigger problem!" Jetray. "A massive army of ants are heading this way!"
Gwen paled. She too had read Leiningen Versus the Ants and having read up about said insects, she knew perfectly well what they were capable of. "We've got to stop them, now!"
"Can't you just go Way Big and squash them?" Kevin asked.
"I don't think that would be a good idea," Jetray said. "There are probably a million of those things. They'd swarm me before I get rid of half."
"Then what do we do?" Kevin asked.
"Evacuate the city," Jetray told him.
"What?!" Kevin and Gwen both exclaimed.
"I'll try and stop them," Jetray said. "And if I can't, I'll at least buy everyone enough time to get out of here."
"You think we'll be able to evacuate all the people in Bellwood?" Kevin asked skeptically.
"It's better than nothing!" Jetray snapped. With that, he flew off.
"I'm getting the others," Gwen said. "Ben's gonna need all the help he can get!"
Jetray flew back to where the swarm was still making its way towards Bellwood. "Sorry our date got ruined like this, Apacci," Jetray said before hitting the dial. In a flash of light, he became Heatblast. The Pyronite landed in the path the swarm was heading.
"Hope none of you guys are fire ants," Heatblast said as he created a wall of flames between him and the ants. He had a feeling this wouldn't stop the majority of them but it should set them back some. Sure enough, he could spot some of the ants crawling through. Their sheer numbers was a pain in the neck. Heatblast launched himself into the air through his flames. Desperately he began pelting the ants with fireballs. But it was no good. There was just too many. No matter many times Heatblast blew them, the ants were just too numerous.
He decided to switch things up and slammed the dial down, transforming into NRG. The armored energy alien slammed down to the ground, squashing several ants in the process. Feeling his presence, several of them started to swarm upon him. But the armored being wasn't all that worried. He started charging up his power, his body becoming so hot that the ants on him died instantly. He slammed his hands on the ground, causing the ground to become like lava while firing a radiation beam through his vent. While his power was decimating the ant horde, some were getting past him and they kept right on coming. Time to try something else. He hit the dial again, transforming into Big Chill. He hit the dial again and transformed into Ultimate Big Chill. Taking a deep breath, he started unleashing his ice flames as he soared over the horde. He was freezing a good amount of the ants now, but they were still so numerous. Ultimate Big Chill didn't know if he could freeze all the ants in time. They were getting close and closer to Bellwood. And what's worse, he didn't know when the Ultimatrix would run out of power. He would just have to keep trying.
"La Gota!"
Ultimate Big Chill's eyes widened as jets of water started striking the ants, scatting them all over the place. Just then bright lights from nowhere started blasting the ants into oblivion. Ultimate Big Chill recognized them as Cero. To his relief, Ulquiorra, Nelliel, Starrk, Harribel, the later two were in their released states, Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun flew towards him.
"You guys!" Ultimate Big Chill said in relief.
"Gwen told us you could use some help," Apacci explained with a grin. "Time to do a little pest control!"
"Keep the ants from reaching Bellwood!" Ultimate Big Chill ordered.
"You got it, Ben!" Mila Rose said as she, Apacci, and Sung-Sun flew off and started firing Bala at the ants leading the charge. Starrk, Nelliel, and Ulquiorra continued blasting the ants with their Cero as Harribel pelted them with her La Gota attack.
"Hurry up," Starrk told her as he unleashed his Cero Metralleta, decimating a humongous amount of the ants. "Our attacks are doing way too much damage to this land."
"I understand that," Harribel replied. "I need to build up more moisture."
"More water?" Ultimate Big Chill asked. "You got it." He transformed in Water Hazard. As he fell, he started spraying the air full of water for Harribel to use. Starrk quickly caught him before he hit the ground.
"Thank you, Ben," Harribel said as she raised her sword. The moisture in the air, combined with the water from her and Ben, she started creating a massive sphere of water. "Cascada!"
The water hit the ants like a tidal wave, completely flooding them
"Ben!" Harribel called to him. "Finish them off!"
Water Hazard gave her a thumbs up. "One bug zapper, coming up!" He slammed the dial and transformed. When the green light was gone, Ben had transformed into AmpFibian. The Amperi flew to where the last remaining ants were. His tentacles started crackling with electricity before he fired them down upon the insects. With all the water down there, the electrical attack surged through the ants. When he finally stopped, AmpFibian waited to see if there was any more left. He scanned wearily.
"You got them all, Ben," Ulquiorra said.
AmpFibian sighed in relief. Suddenly he transformed back to normal in mid-air. He started to plummet before Nelliel caught him.
"Well done, Ben," She said with a smile.
"Well done, everyone," Ben corrected her. "I don't know what I could have done without you guys."
Soon the gang gathered in the middle of town, surveying the damage.
"Harangue will no doubt try to blame you for this," Ulquiorra said as he looked at the wreckage. Most of it was caused by people's panic over the invading insects rather than the insects themselves. It was amazing how dangerous people were when filled with fear.
"We'll think of something," Kevin told him.
"Thanks for your help guys," Ben said again, now that the Tres Bestias were there. The three looked proud at Ben's praise.
"Yes, well done, all of you," Grandpa Max said, walking up to them. "The outskirts of Bellwood were pretty damaged up but I suppose, given the alternative."
"That might have been my fault," Starrk, who was now separated from Lilynette, said. "I told you using Resurreccion was overkill."
"What?!" Lilynette barked. "We got rid of most of them with our Cero Metralleta! Don't you tell me it was overkill!" She literally kicked him in his rear while the majority of the group laughed.
"I must say, when those disgusting vermin showed up in my beauty salon, I almost exploded," said Charlotte,who had come to see them.
"And the flies were swarming all over the gym," Redder said. "That Clancy guy has some wicked abilities."
"Which reminds me," Ben said as he looked at his grandpa. "Where is Clancy?"
"We've got him," Max told him. "We'll make sure he's locked up better this time around. With the potential threat he has become, we can't afford to take anymore chances."
Ben nodded in relief. Tonight had been a really close call and he wasn't sure what would have happened if his Arrancar friends hadn't been there.
"Now," Max went on. "I believe you and Apacci still have a date to finish. We'll leave you to it." Both Ben and Apacci blushed, much to the majority's amusement. One by one, everyone went on to do their own thing, offering words of encouragement or teasing to the couple. Once they were alone, Ben and Apacci went over to his car where her gigai still remained. Apacci asked if they could drive out. Feeling that he had disappointed her, Ben was more than willing to comply. They drove out and Apacci directed him to a hilltop overlooking Bellwood. Had he been in his right mind, he would have noticed the romantic setting. But right now he was too worn out to notice.
"Sorry our date wound up like this," Ben told Apacci sincerely.
Apacci shrugged. "Hey, I got to have fun and help save the day. Not really a bad date after all."
"Really?" Ben asked, grateful that he hadn't completely ruined her night.
"But," Apacci went on. "There is still one thing I'd like to do."
"Anything," Ben assured her.
Apacci gave a big smirk that suddenly made Ben nervous. Suddenly she grabbed him and crashed his lips into a deep and passionate kiss, her tongue already roaming his mouth, exploring every inch. Initially shocked, Ben soon got into the swing of things and returned Apacci's affections. The tomboyish Arrancar crawled out of her seat and into Ben's lap, throwing her arms around him. Ben embraced her and the two just made out till their need to breathe kicked in.
"Whoa," Ben said, suddenly feeling dizzy from the kiss.
"So," Apacci said, suddenly shy. "Did you like it?"
Ben gave her a lopsided grin. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't."
Apacci beamed. "I'm glad. I was...afraid that I wasn't as good as...the others."
Ben noticed her nervousness. He smiled and gave her a soft peck on the lips to assure her. She looked into his eyes and they resumed kissing again. While this was much slower, it was no less passionate. Ben got an idea in his head and pulled away. Apacci panicked, fearing she had done something wrong, but her worries melted when Ben started planting kisses along her neck while tracing circles along her back with one hand and using the other to caress her face. She moaned when Ben reached a sensitive spot on her neck. Smirking, Ben gave the spot a slight nip before sucking on it. Apacci's eyes widened when she realized that Ben was giving her a hickey. Oh, she wished this was happening in her gigai to show off to Mila Rose later. Ben eventually pulled away to admire the bruise that was starting to form on his girlfriend's neck.
"Thank you," She whispered softly. Ben smiled and the two started kissing each other once again. As they did, Apacci noticed a heat that was starting to build up inside her while Ben noticed his pants felt unusually tighter and turned crimson when he realized how aroused he was. Apacci noticed this as well and smirked at him. "Getting rather excited, huh?"
Ben sheepishly looked away but Apacci laughed. "Hey, I don't mind if I turn you on. After all...you turn me on." Ben's face became an even darker shade of red as Apacci laughed. "We should probably head back by now before your mom worries."
"Y-yeah," Ben mumbled. Apacci shifted out of his lap and got back in her own seat. Ben started up the car as they both buckled up.
"Thanks again for taking me out tonight," Apacci said with a smile. "I did enjoy it."
Ben smiled back at her. "I'm glad. All five of you...you girls mean a lot to me. I want you all to be happy."
Apacci blushed at his words.
As they drove home, Ben thought about all the dates he had with his girls. He couldn't say that he loved them just yet...but he had a feelings things were definitely going in the right direction.
"That bug guy has potential. Did you see what he was capable of?"
"Are you sure he would join us?"
Hiding in a nearby alleyway, despite their cloaks making them undetectable, were none other than Loly and Menoly. The two had indeed been taking time for Loly to recover from her encounter with Toepick. Her hair was now permanently snow white from the experience, giving her another reason to despise Ben. They had been trying to learn more about Ben and his enemies but had very little success. That is, until today when the whole Clancy incident had taken place. The two didn't dare make a move with so many Espada out and about (their previous defeat finally caused Loly to be a little more cautious), but they had witness what Clancy was capable of. That, and the fact that he was Ben's enemy, made him an instant interest to Loly.
"We're giving him the chance to kill Tennyson," Loly told Menoly. "Of course he'd join us. We just need a way to communicate with him." The two then paused as some new voices were heard coming from nearby.
"This is pointless, Ggio. We've been looking for days. We'll never find them."
"Shut up, Parduoc! They're here. We just need to keep looking."
Menoly and Loly's eyes widened. They recognized those voices. The two dashed out the alleyway and saw Ggio Vega, Choe Neng Poww, and Nirgge Parduoc.
"Do you think they will help us?" Poww asked Vega.
"They want to kill Tennyson, we want to kill Tennyson," Vega said. "How could they refuse?"
Loly and Menoly couldn't believe their ears. Other people that wanted to kill Tennyson! Seeing a perfect opportunity, Loly threw off her cloak that hid her presence. "Hello, boys."
The three former Fraccion turned in the direction of the voice, taken by surprise at actually running into their quarry. Ggio grinned. "So...we finally found you."
"What's this I hear about you guys wanting to kill Ben Tennyson?" Loly asked, smiling nastily.
End of Chapter
Well, everyone. Here's the chapter to Bleach: Ultimate Alien at long last. Personally I didn't expect it to get this long. I know Apacci's date wasn't all that compared to the previous dates, but you guys were getting tired of all the filler and I wanted to get back on plot. Like I said earlier, there's still going to be romance but I'm making it more of a side thing now thank goodness. I love romance but I let it get way too carried away in this story (As if the girls constantly saying how much they love Ben wasn't the first clue.) Speaking of which, I'm going to make Nelliel the prominent love interest in this story since Harribel is the main focus in the Bleach: Omniverse stories. All the girls will still get their moments though, I promise.
Darkmachines, your character is interesting and all, but I'm not gonna use him. I don't know if bringing in any OC characters would be a good idea and I've seen you ask other people in reviews to use him. So basically you're just using other people's stories to promote your own character. I'm sorry, but that won't happen in mine.
Well, everyone. Take care and I'll see you next chapter.