Chapter 143: Trial By Fire: Part Two

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

Disclaimer: I Don't Own The Rights To Nathan Black Or Any Associated Characters, The Rights Go To annihalator2015

Author's Note:

* Hello and welcome to Chapter One Hundred and Forty Three.

* The only thing I'll say is that this will be a big chapter. So, with that said, let's get right into it.

Earth-Prime

Friday, February 1st, 2019

Downtown Bellwood

Ben

"Watch it, Sparky! Or you'll bring the whole place down on us!"

"Just shut up and fucking die already!"

He alternated between throwing fireballs at me and shooting beams of fire at me, all of which I absorbed with my body. After a few minutes of this, I felt a familiar lightheaded feeling.

Where have I felt this feeling before?

That's when I finally remembered.

Oh, this isn't the last time that I've been inside a building while in the form of Heatblast! Ben Tennyson, you fucking idio...

I let out a shrill scream as my form changed.

Minutes Later

That day that Animo trapped me in an apartment building, I tried to use my powers to thaw myself out. I didn't succeed and ended up burning down the building as I switched to some other form of Heatblast. Some sort of thing made entirely out of fire. I thought that I had come up with enough experience to pull this off.

Well, I was right and wrong. I didn't burn down the whole building, but now the entire floor was on fire. Alan vacated once it happened and so I followed him back outside. There was a crowd of people waiting for us and to my surprise, Alan didn't attack. As he just remained static, levitating above the ground, I looked down at my hands made entirely out of fire. As I stood there, there was a flash from ahead of me.

I looked in front of me. I saw a red-headed young lady with a camera. When she lowered the camera, I wasn't too surprised that it was Gwen.

Of course, she wasn't actually here this time. It wouldn't make sense for her to be here. I had just imagined the camera flash once the "ghosts of the past" had begun to affect me. I looked back down at my hands, to see that they had returned to their normal form. I looked at Alan, ready to block another attack, but that wouldn't be necessary. I heard the whir of a jet engine and I looked up to see a S.E.C.T. aircraft.

Well, it's about time!

A half dozen troops emerged from the aircraft, using jetpacks to hover through the air and all of them were armed with some kind of futuristic firearms. I expected them to give Alan a warning, but I was surprised when they opened fire on him without question. They fired some sort of pellets at him and a second or two later, some kind of gas hissed out of them. Alan shrieked with pain and several seconds later, after the gas had cleared, I noticed that he looked different.

The fire on his body was all gone. Completely gone. Now instead of fire, it looked like his body was made up of chunks of charcoal, which were all giving off a slight red glow. He was still probably giving off heat, even if he wasn't on fire anymore. This seemed to make him even angrier. And unfortunately, a random citizen just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He reached out and grabbed a black-haired girl, who might have been my age. The girl shut her eyes and cried out with pain, so Alan must have been giving off heat still. Then he started speaking in an enraged tone.

"All of you back off now or the girl gets it! I swear to fucking God, I'll kill this bitch!"

As he said that, Alan's free hand reignited, setting his arm ablaze all the way up to his elbow.

"I'm serious! Just back off and leave me the fuck alone!"

What can I do? As Heatblast, I'd only harm the girl. And as plain, old Ben Tennyson, I'd just harm myself!

Before Alan could do or say anything else, within the blink of an eye, one of the S.E.C.T. units used their jetpack to fly past Alan, pulling the girl away from him in the process.

"Prep him for transport." I heard one of the agents say.

Even quicker than the previous move, one of them raised a different firearm and fired it at Alan. The firearm fired some kind of ball of mass and when it hit Alan, it expanded across his entire torso, until it had taken the shape of some sort of restraining device. The material took the appearance of a black straight jacket and Alan was no longer able to attack. Sensing that the danger was over, I approached one of the agents.

"Is there anything I can help..."

The agent interrupted me by turning and pulling a gun on me.

"Out?" I finished in a weak voice.

I slowly began to back up.

"I think you've helped out quite enough, thank you. Now stand down before I have you detained!"

I continued to back up and eventually the agent turned his attention away from me. At that moment, the hourglass symbol on my chest began to flash red. I reverted back to human form and I began to move away from the crime scene. I then used my good wrist gauntlet to grapple up to a rooftop, out of sight, out of mind.

Sometime Later

I sat on a rooftop high above the roar of the streets, with my mask off, staring down at the street below me.

I'm a failure. Some superhero I am! I can't even stop an angry flaming man from running rampant in the city! There's nothing else to say about it. I'm a failure.

Just then, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I didn't want to answer it, but I knew that I should. I took my phone out of my pocket and looked at it, recognizing the number on the caller ID. It was Director Steel. I knew that because it was the same number that had called me maybe an hour ago. Even though, I didn't want to, I answered it.

"Were there any injuries? Is everyone okay?"

"No thanks to you. Dozens of people have mild to severe burn cases. Some people have to be hospitalized due to their burns."

Hearing him say that, 'no thanks to you', pissed me off. And so, I vented my frustration to him by repeating the same line that I had used on him earlier.

"If you actually gave a fuck about the situation with them, you would be...!"

I was interrupted when out of nowhere, a pod of some kind touched down onto the rooftop a few feet from me. I got up and slowly approached it. It only took a few seconds for the pod to open and lo and behold, Director Steel stepped out, with an unimpressed look on his face. I began to back up as I hung up my phone, no longer sensing the need for it. I slipped it back into my pocket as he began to speak, stepping closer to me as he did.

"But I do care, kid. More than you could possibly ever know. Who do you think worked to keep all of your foes locked up, huh? You know that I was the only one who believed in you? Everyone else on the Special Extra-terrestrial Containment Team told me that I was crazy for wanting to recruit a seventeen-year-old to the team!"

"I'm eighteen." I said.

"No, zip it!" Director Steel exclaimed, his face as red as a brick. "The adult is talking!"

I kept my mouth shut this time as he continued.

"What if someone had died in that burning building today? That would have been your fault! Their blood would have been on your hands! And if you died, I feel like I have to take on responsibility for that. Can you imagine what it would be like, to have to go meet two of your best friends to tell them that you failed to save their son? No, you can't."

I remained quiet, as I stared at the rooftop floor.

"Why can't you just listen to me? I'm trying to keep you alive here, but that's difficult when you deliberately do the exact opposite of what I tell you! I can't protect you if you disobey my orders!"

I looked up at him, my face growing red as I resisted the urge to start crying.

"Fuck you!" I exclaimed in retaliation, which seemed to temporarily surprise him.

I didn't stop there.

"You want to protect me?! You couldn't even protect your own son! You didn't even know that he existed! And out of all the times that I told you, you never seemed to care about..."

Director Steel's face grew red once more and he cut me off.

"I always knew that I had a son!" he screamed back at me.

I stopped speaking as I backed up, it being my turn to be surprised. He sighed as his faced returned to its normal color.

"You have no idea what it's like to wake up after being in a coma for a month, just to be told that you can never go back home to see your girlfriend who's expecting. Yeah, I knew. The last period of time off that they gave me, I went home to see her. And one of the first things she told me was that she was pregnant, with my child. Do you know how painful it is, to be told that you can never go back home and marry your childhood best friend?"

I perked up at that.

Wait, Kevin's mother was Director Steel's childhood best friend? Did they just fall for each other at some point?

"You can't imagine how angry I felt when I became Director and I learned that the then-Director himself authorized someone to go to our house and tell her that I had died in a botched operation! I tried to make contact with my girlfriend and son, to get within a few feet of them, only to be caught red handed by a S.E.C.T. agent who was assigned to keep an eye on me. And when we captured him, when we had him on the examination table, I swore at that moment that I would cure him of the abilities that I had passed down to him, because I wanted him to be able to live a normal life."

I saw his eyes had become bloodshot, as if he were struggling not to cry in front of me.

"I felt that was the least I could do for him, seeing as I could no longer live a normal life. But he then he escaped and I never saw him again after that. I told myself that because I could never see them, I just had to say that I didn't have a son. That I never had someone special. And eventually, I began to believe it. But when I heard about his death, I cried. I cried for hours. And the higher ups of the organization, the fucking assholes wouldn't even let me go to his funeral!"

Tears were running down his cheeks, so that's when I knew. I knew that every word he said was the truth. However, he quickly wiped the tears away and after that, it was like he had never started crying.

"I'm so sorry. I had no id..."

"Sorry doesn't cut it." he said in a harsh tone.

At least give me the courtesy of finishing my sentence, don't interrupt me, you asshole!

"I just wanted to clean up the messes that The Forever Knights keep making before they..."

"And I wanted you to stay out of it and let S.E.C.T. handle it, didn't I? And instead, you disobeyed my orders and put dozens—if not hundreds—of people in danger today!"

This time I didn't say anything and I stared back down at the rooftop floor.

"Okay, let's have it."

I looked back up at him.

"Have what?"

"What do you think I'm talking about?! The Omnitrix! Let's have the Omnitrix, now!"

"B...But..."

"You've proven today that you are not responsible enough to have such a powerful piece of alien technology, so hand it over now."

"For how long, though?"

"If you're wondering if you'll ever get it back, the answer's probably no. I can find someone much better suited than you to have it."

"But you don't understand! If you take this away, then I'll be nothing without it!"

"If you're nothing without it, then you don't deserve to have it."

I looked back down at the rooftop floor.

"You aren't nothing without the Omnitrix, kid. You don't need the Omnitrix to do good in the world. Go to med school and be a doctor someday, go to law school and become a lawyer or become a scientist. That's how you can do some good."

I still said nothing.

"Come on then, let's get this over with. There's no sense in dragging this out."

I looked up at him, feeling as though I was going to cry. He looked back at me with a disapproving gaze.

"Really, kid? Come on, now. The old 'pretending that you're going to cry' gag isn't going to work on me."

But I'm not pretending...

His face grew red once more.

"Hand it over, NOW!"

I grabbed the Omnitrix and touched the button on the underside of it, detaching it from my wrist, then threw it at Director Steel, hoping I would nail him in the face with it. Of course, he caught it in his hand. I looked up at him, tears streaming down my cheeks as my face grew red with my own anger.

"Are you gonna confiscate my costume, too? Make me walk home in my underwear?"

Instead of responding, he turned around without a word and walked back to the pod that he had arrived in. On his way to his pod, he stopped and spoke one last time.

"Sorry I misjudged you, kid."

He didn't say anything else, he just got back into his pod and the door shut behind him. I collapsed onto my knees and rested my hands on my thighs as I began to cry uncontrollably. In between by sobs, I spoke:

"I fu... hic... I fucking hate... hic... you. I hate your... hic... fucking guts."

I heard the engine of his pod fire up and it lifted off of the rooftop. I doubt he heard what I said.

A Couple Hours Later

The Forever Knights' Main Headquarters

I stared up at the Forever Knights' Tower and took a deep breath. I had come here with a purpose and there was no turning back now.

I had walked home with my gloves and mask stuffed into my jacket pockets, with the jacket zipped up. I had assumed that I would stand out, that people would notice me. No one ever did notice me, though. I was just another nameless bystander. I was just a powerless, insignificant teenager. When I got home, Gwen asked me questions.

"How did it go? What happened?"

"Wait. Ben, where's the Omnitrix?"

"Ben, why won't you answer me?!"

I never answered her. I walked into my room, changed out of my costume, packed myself a bag and then left the house again.

I finally mustered up the courage and walked into the tower. I approached the front desk and as I reached the desk, I took off my backpack and dropped it at my feet. The receptionist looked up at me with surprise.

"Do you have a..."

"Can you please tell Mr. Enoch that Ben Tennyson is here to see him. It's urgent."

She continued to look up at me with surprise, before she eventually reached for the phone.

Sometime Later

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, the elevator in the lobby opened and Enoch stepped out, closely followed by a younger man.

"Ben Tennyson!" he exclaimed with open arms as he approached me. "What brings you to my building?"

He walked to my side and put his arm around my neck, which I quickly grabbed his arm and took it off my neck. I backed up a few feet from him.

"Just keep your distance and listen to what I have to say to you, okay?"

He said nothing and so, I spoke instead.

"Listen, I'm not stupid. I know about all the things you've done lately. I know that you paid a group of my oldest enemies to try to kill me. I know what you did to my cousin, Ken. I know what you did to that poor kid, Alan Albright. I know that you want me dead. So, here."

I threw him my backpack and he caught it.

"What's in here?" he asked.

"Open it and find out." I said as he did just that.

Once it was opened, he looked into the bag, to see every piece of my costume inside.

"Are you giving me your costume, Tennyson? If you are, why?"

"Take it as a sign of my seriousness in the deal that I'm about to offer you."

He looked up at me.

"My offer to you is this: If you stop the attacks on me and my family, if you leave me alone for the rest of our lives, then I will never become a super hero again."

I approached him and stuck out my hand.

"Do we have a deal?"

He stared at me for a few seconds.

"I think that's fair."

I glared at him.

"Shake on it, or I won't believe that you're sincere about it!"

And so he took my hand and we shook. Once he let go of my hand, I backed up from him.

"Well, I suppose that concludes my business here. Goodbye, Mr. Enoch. I doubt I'll ever see you again."

"I believe you're right. Have a good life, Tennyson."

"You as well." I replied as I headed for the exit.

Asshole.

Enoch

One Minute Later

Once Tennyson had left, I turned to Smith.

"Mr. Smith," I said with a sinister grin on my face. "Tell Mr. Jones to get into position.

Sixsix

Noon

Downtown Bellwood

I stood on a rooftop in Downtown Bellwood across the street from my target's workplace, sniper rifle in hand, as I listened to my orders.

"Your target should be coming out anytime now, Mr. Jones." Mr. Enoch's voice came from my earpiece.

"Acknowledged. And don't ever call me 'Mr. Jones' again."

I looked through the scope of my rifle and directed my aim to the double doors of the building. A minute or so later, my target stepped out of the building, ready for the lunch break that he would never take.

"I'm taking out the target now."

BANG!

Ben

A Couple Hours Later

The Tennyson House

When I got home, I found that the house was completely dark and eerily silent.

"Anybody home?" I shouted after closing the door.

No answer. I walked further into the house and checked all the rooms. All of them were empty. I checked the basement next. Still no one in sight. I even knocked on the door to Albedo and Sunny's room and got no answer there, either. As I was walking back up the stairs, I felt my phone vibrate. I took my phone out of my pocket as I stepped into the living room. I saw that I had six missed calls from Gwen.

What the hell?

I felt my heart drop in my chest as I saw that a message accompanied each missed phone call. I tapped on my voicemail app and told it to play all of the messages, starting with the first one. I put it to my ear and prepared myself.

"Ben," Gwen's voice entered my ear. "your dad has been shot by Sixsix! He's in the hos..."

That was all I heard, as my phone slipped from my hand and fell to the ground. I fell to my knees as my hands went slack at my sides. My entire body shook as the tears began to come. I gritted my teeth as I began breathing so fast that it felt like I was hyperventilating. I threw my head back as an enraged scream erupted from me.

"Enoch!"

Author's Note:

* And that's it for this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed.

* So, how do you think this will play out? I'm really interested to hear about any theories and what not that you may have.

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

Review Responses

Daniel6 (Chapter 142): Poor Alan. This just screams Tuskegee Airmen.

Thanks, Daniel. Yes, Alan is in a predicament. Tuskegee Airmen, huh? That's a nice comparison, though it wasn't intentional. Thanks for the review, as always.

Next Chapter: Gwen tries to comfort Ben, with no success. Ben leaves his house and starts down the path on a revenge quest.