I do not own the Ben Ten franchise.

Insecurities

Blood pounding in her ears, Gwen managed to quickly recover from the blow dealt to her by the burly robber she was fighting. His face was covered by a black mask, but his blue eyes were visible through the narrow slit and they were filled fear.

"Get away from me!" he hollered, trying to get away from the strange creature pursuing him.

In her Methanosian form, Gwen caught the fleeing criminal once more with her vines, yanking him back towards her. Desperate, the robber went for another punch, which she managed to avoid this time. She increased the tightness of her vines, the green plant tightening around him. His arms were pinned to his side, causing him to thrash uselessly in an attempt to escape.

"Let go of me, you freak!"

"Yeah, I don't think so," she drawled. "You really shouldn't take money that's not yours."

His foot suddenly caught her in the stomach, making her recoil. "Help!" he screamed. "I'm being attacked by a monster!"

Scowling, she slammed her fist upside his head with enough force to knock him out. "Alien," she corrected, though she knew he couldn't hear what she was saying anymore.

Her Omnitrix beeped and flashed, and in seconds she transformed back to her normal form. The robber fell to the cement with a thud. Swaying on her feet, Gwen slumped against the warm brick wall of the alley, trying to catch her breath from having it knocked out of her by the kick. She could feel a mark developing on her cheek where the criminal punched her.

The light from the lone bulb hanging above her cast little glow for her to properly see, now that she had her limited human sight. She squinted through the consuming darkness, but the flickering shadows at both ends of the alley did not resemble passing people. Relaxing slightly, she tilted her head back to look up at the star-studded sky. Gwen took some more deep breathes of fresh air, calming the racing pace of her heart.

She slowly straightened and stared down at the unconscious robber. "Guess I better bring this lunkhead in before he wakes up," she muttered aloud, hearing her own voice echo in the narrow strip.

She was sore and could feel her new bruises throbbing. Gwen tried to ignore her protesting limbs as she raised her blue, clunky Omnitrix and turned the dial. She selected the Kinceleran and there was a flash of pink energy as her body transformed into the super-fast alien.

She grabbed hold of the two money bags, which had been dropped in surprise by the robber when she first made her appearance. With her other arm, she hauled the guy over her shoulder and took off, the world blurring around her and time seeming to still. Yet she appeared at her destination, which was blocks away, in mere seconds.

Blue and red lights illuminated the dark night, sirens piercing the summer silence. There was already yellow crime tape around the bank that had been burglarized. All the cops in the vicinity jumped and shouted when she suddenly appeared. She felt inward ire at the guns that automatically pointed in her direction.

"Relax, I'm just dropping something off."

The authorities stared at the robber that slipped away from them just minutes before, and the money he had stolen. They had no time to react to this odd circumstance, for the unearthly creature was gone, a rush of wind following its departure.

Gwen had made it ten blocks away when her Omnitrix suddenly timed out again, causing her to stumble to a halt in the middle of the street. Brow furrowing, she tried the dial, but could not access any of her ten aliens. "It hasn't even been that long," she snapped in annoyance. "Come on!"

But her Omnitrix would not cooperate and she let out a huff of frustrated air. With little option, she started to trudge down the street, the lamps illuminating her way. She didn't get very far before her legs gave out and she collapsed to the curb. Everything hurt and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't seem to get enough air into her lungs. Fear starting to creep through her, she stared nervously down the long stretch of road. The Rust Bucket was in a campsite quite a ways away, and if she didn't make it back before curfew she was going to be in a colossal amount of trouble. She wasn't even supposed to be out in the first place.

"Have you lost your mind?!"

The demand came before the being who uttered it. There was a flash of pink light and a Galvan in an elegant fuchsia robe appeared before her. Gwen was startled for a moment before defense settled in at his accusatory tone.

"What do you mean?"

"It's two in the morning and you're out here, running after some mediocre crook with a blunt knife."

"I heard the sirens! What was I supposed to do, ignore them?"

"Yes. Sirens are an indicator that the authorities are on their way to deal with the matter. They are not your personal summoning signal."

Gwen managed not to flinch at his condescending tone. She had known the Galvan for five months, and he never once in that time took her seriously. She hadn't gotten used to his harsh criticism and it hurt more than it should have. She didn't understand what she doing wrong, what she was doing that he didn't like.

"It's a good thing I checked it out," she said stubbornly. "The crook nearly got away."

"Yes, because it would be so difficult for seasoned policeman to track down a generic burglar."

Bristling at his sarcasm, Gwen muttered, "What are you doing here, Azmuth?"

"I came to see what you've done to my Omnitrix."

"I haven't done anything," she replied, confused.

Azmuth hopped up onto the girl's knee, reaching out and testing the dial of his greatest invention. "As I thought. It's shorting out the time limit for your transformations and elongating the recharging time. You're overworking yourself."

"I'm not."

Arching his brow at the girl's protest, Azmuth pressed his index finger against Gwen's chest. He could feel the rapid pounding of her heart and the heavy rise and fall of her chest as her lungs demanded oxygen. "Do not attempt to lie to me. It's insulting to the both of us."

Gwen flushed, pale blue eyes moving to stare at the pavement. "There's just been more alien attacks and criminal activity happening lately."

"Perhaps there has been an increase in alien attacks. But criminal activity? Nonsense. You have no need to concern yourself with every miniscule matter, especially when they can be dealt with by your local authorities. You are seeking these criminals out."

Pursing her lips together, Gwen traced the thick strap of the Omnitrix. "Did Grandpa Max talk to you?" she finally asked.

"No. He did not need to." Azmuth crossed his arms over his chest, sharp magenta irises highlighting his onyx pupils. "I've been monitoring the data readings of the Omnitrix. You've been utilizing it far more than you did when you first discovered it. I also doubt Max would allow his granddaughter to go off on her own in the middle of the night. So you will tell me why you have driven yourself to the verge of exhaustion with these unnecessary excursions."

It was an order, not a request, and Gwen knew the Galvan would not leave until she had satisfactorily answered all of his questions. In the short time they've known each other, she gathered that much information about the mysterious and secretive alien.

Anxiety welled in her gut, for she realized she would now have to explain herself. She just knew that he would laugh at her, find her reasoning irrational and infantile. But she could not lie to him. Fingers digging into the fabric of her white capris, she found herself saying, "I'm a girl."

Expression blank, Azmuth regarded her, not quite sure what to make of this obvious statement. "It's normally your cousin who says such asinine remarks."

Face blooming red, so bright that she was certain it was visible even in the darkness, Gwen struggled to phrase the concern and fear she had been dwelling on ever since she met her mentor. "I sometimes think," she said at last, "that you don't take me seriously because I'm female."

"You believe me to be misogynistic?"

"No!" she said quickly, realizing that she had perhaps not phrased her thoughts appropriately. "I don't. I just…I don't know. You don't seem very happy to have me wielding your Omnitrix."

Azmuth stared at her intently. "So this sudden influx of heroic activity on your end was done in an attempt to win my favour?"

Cheeks burning, Gwen found her eyes glued to the pavement. She supposed it sounded silly, but for some reason his approval mattered to her. She shouldn't have cared so much. She hadn't known the Galvan for very long, so she shouldn't really care what his opinions of her were.

But she did. Ever since meeting Azmuth, she respected and admired him greatly. Maybe it was because he saved her life in their first encounter. Maybe it was because he gave her a priceless gift that allowed her to make a difference in the world. All she knew was that she wanted Azmuth to accept her as the wielder of his Omnitrix.

"Yes," she whispered. "Something like that."

"Look at me."

Gwen obeyed, locking eyes with Azmuth. He regarded her for a moment before speaking. "I care not that you're a girl. What bothers me is that the most sought after device in the universe is in the hands of a ten-year-old Earth child. You are facing dangers no normal child should ever deal with, and you still have much maturing to do."

"Hey, I am mature!"

Azmuth gave her a pointed look. "Escaping into the night to fight any criminal that you stumble across in order to overcome your insecurities is hardly included in the definition of maturity. Not to mention your inability to avoid getting into verbal spars with your cousin."

Unable to argue, Gwen's shoulders slumped. "So if it bothers you so much, why did you let me keep it?"

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Azmuth said, "If I must spell it out for you. You have my Omnitrix because you've impressed me."

Eyes widening, Gwen asked hopefully, "I have?"

"You never once attempted to use it for your own gain. You want to help creatures of all walks of life, at the sacrifice of your own. For a child, it's extraordinary to have such protective instinct and courage. When you came to me, willing to die in order to save everyone else, I knew I was wrong. And I am rarely wrong. There is hope for this universe—you showed it to me."

Her rush of joy at hearing his praise faltered as a thought struck her. "Then how come you're always snapping at me?" she asked with a slight pout.

"Because as intelligent as you are, you still make mistakes and act recklessly. I will not pat you on the head and merely tell you to try better next time. I will tell you exactly what you're doing wrong and I expect you to improve."

The weight that had been burdening her lifted, and she felt lighter than she had in months. She wished he was not so harsh a criticizer, but she supposed she could deal with it. Ben was much worse, after all, and she was just happy her belief that Azmuth disliked her were false.

Gwen shifted her pale blue eyes around the dark, quiet street, the streetlamps flickering above them. "Er…sorry about this," she muttered in embarrassment. "It was entirely stupid. I should've known better than to just run off by myself and look for trouble."

"You should have. The next time you feel yourself overwhelmed by insecurities, you will speak with me about them," he ordered sharply. "Is that clear?"

"Yes sir," she said quickly.

"Good. I will take you home." Removing his teleportation remote from his robe pocket, he added, "I've had enough of your female dramatics for one night."

Gwen's pale blue eyes flashed with indigence. She was about to retort when she noticed the amused gleam in her mentor's magenta irises. Huffing out a breath, she crossed her arms over her chest, trying hard not to smile.

"Very funny. Not."