Author's Note: I own nothing.
19 Road Trip
Jen was hoping for a peaceful day after finally confronting her first crush, the girl who had for the longest time convinced her that people only wanted her for what she could do not who she was. It had gone quite a bit better than she'd thought it would. She'd texted Kai, Gregory's information so they could get in contact and the ex-Forever Knight squire could maybe answer how a castle had ended up in the Nevada desert long before the first Europeans made their way to America. Of course none of them were counting on the Vreedle brothers, Octagon and Rhomboid, coming to repossess Ship from Julie. So now Jen and Kevin were in the ship they'd borrowed from the techie on the moon on their way to the court planet Coda Coda to contest the verdict. They were silent for a while as Kevin flew the ship, Jen manning the blasters to keep the asteroids from destroying the ship.
"So… How are things with Gwen?" Jen asked after blasting a particularly large asteroid. Kevin rolled his eyes.
"And I would talk to you about my relationship because?" Jen shrugged.
"Who else are you going to talk to it about? Besides I know my cousin better than anyone. Come on, you know you can trust me." Kevin shook his head but the slight grin on his face made Jen smile.
"Things are nice. She's… she's fantastic, and I'm not just saying that because you're probably gonna tell her what I said." Jen looked at him affronted.
"Oh please! Like I would. She's my cousin but you're my friend, what happens on space road trips stays on space road trips." Kevin laughed. Jen shot another asteroid out of the way as the silence fell again.
"I feel like I'm not good enough for her." Kevin said it so quietly that Jen was nearly certain he didn't actually mean for her to hear it. She frowned.
"Why?" Kevin sighed and remained silent for a moment but before Jen could push he spoke again.
"After the accident I just… I'm a freak again. And part of the reason I was the way I was when I was a kid was because of an electrical imbalance in the brain. It's why I don't fuck around with electricity anymore. I… I don't want to be a monster again." Jen reached over and squeezed Kevin's shoulder reassuringly.
"Hey, you're not a monster. I'm working on a solution to this." Since she was the cause of the problem in the first place. Well the Omnitrix anyway. Kevin nodded.
"Thanks. I think Gwen is too." Jen smiled.
"She would be."
Jen was incensed when she learned the reason Baz-el wanted Ship back. She had to take several deep breaths so she didn't punch the Mechamorph right there in the courtroom. Once her rage had subsided to a simple bubble and not an overflow she turned to Baz-el.
"So what you're saying is that now that Ship had a hand in saving every living being in the universe you want him back. So that you can brag about something you had no personal hand in." The judge raised an eyebrow as Jen continued, though Kevin grabbed her shoulder to stop her. "You gave Ship to us that day when your ship crashed. I have a witness if we need to call him. Prince Albrasix of Apollo I, he was there that night. You haven't once checked on him since then, through me or any other Plumber." The bailiff, a bright red and yellow Highbreed, frowned down at his screen, scrolling through with a long finger.
"She's right." He confirmed. The judge looked at Baz-el with disappointed eyes.
"You never once checked on the wellbeing of a being you now wish to care for?" Baz-el looked away. Jen's eyes narrowed and she took another deep breath as she turned back to the Judge.
"Your honor, my best friend Julie has cared for Ship like he was a member of her own family. She takes perfect care of him, plays with him and makes sure he has everything he needs. It would be extremely cruel to take him away from her without any real provocation!" Kevin raised an eyebrow but remained silent.
"Very well, the court finds in favor of Jennifer Tennyson. No one dumb enough to hire the Vreedles to bring someone in alive is fit to care for another sentient being anyway. And may I just say, how dare you waste the time of the Wielder of the Omnitrix with this Baz-el. You should be ashamed of yourself. I hereby rescind the court ordered reposettion of the property known as Ship and order Baz-el to call off his agents." He banged his gavel on the stand and Baz-el let out a frustrated noise. "Court adjourned for a ten minute recess." The Judge banged his gavel again and vanished as well, the bailiff stepped down to the main courtroom floor and bowed to Jen. She smiled slightly.
"Please don't." He looked up.
"It is an honor to meet you Jen Ten, hero of my people. The Highbreed Supreme often speaks of you and your teachings of peace." Jen grinned a little wider.
"Reiny is too sweet. Could you tell him that the flower he gave me is blooming? I actually have a picture of it, hang on." She pulled her phone out of her pocket and took a moment to pull up the photo of the flower Reiny, the new Highbreed Supreme, had given Jen as a peace offering. It was well on its way to becoming a rosebush. "Oh and I've been meaning to give him my communicator code." The Highbreed bowed again.
"It would be my honor." Jen pulled a scrap of paper out of her pocket and scribbled down the number for her direct communicator. She handed it off and grinned.
"Thank you! What's your name?" He took the paper and nodded.
"I am called Ba-lief."
"It was nice to meet you Ba-lief! Thanks for that, we have to get going. Gotta make sure the Vreedle's didn't kill my friend." Ba-lief nodded and bowed again as Kevin and Jen hurried back to their ship. Baz-el came with them so he could call off the Vreedles.
"I am never going to get used to that." Kevin laughed as they strapped in and took off.
"What? Being famous?" He nodded. "Look at it this way, you're still a nobody on Earth." Jen punched him in the shoulder and had to shake out her hand as he knuckles throbbed from their hard contact with metal. Kevin laughed. Jen rolled her eyes as they shot back through space towards Earth at top speed.
