Chapter 144: Rage

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 Four.

* I hope that you guys have adjusted after the roller coaster that was last chapter. So, there may be a few other surprises in this chapter, but I think that you guys have seen almost every noteworthy moment in Volume Two. That being said, Volume Two has almost reached its end.

* Um, before we start, a little housekeeping is in order. So, some of you may have noticed that I've started a new Ben 10 story, called Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, which has no relation to the show of the same name. It's a really different Ben 10 story for the kind of stuff that I do here on and I'd really appreciate it if any of you would at least check it out. The new story really means a lot to me and I've been excited to debut it for a very long time, so any attention that it gets would really be appreciated!

* Anyway, with all of that, let's get into the chapter!

Earth-Prime

Friday, February 1st, 2019

The Tennyson House

Ben

I sat on the bed in our bedroom, staring at the wall ahead of me. I had lost all my strength. I had lost my will to act. As I stared at the wall ahead of me, the events of today flashed before my eyes on repeat.

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

"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."

My entire body trembled, but I was unmoving.

"Sorry doesn't cut it."

"I think that's fair."

Tears began to roll down my cheeks, but they weren't tears of sadness. They were tears of anger.

That fucking asshole, I thought. He turned right around and ordered Sixsix to kill my Dad! I know he did!

"Ben, your dad has been shot by Sixsix! He's in the hos..."

I heard the news over and over again, as the events of today replayed without stop.

"...are you okay?"

I hardly flinched as someone spoke. The next thing I knew, I saw Gwen's face in front of me.

"Ben, are you okay? Why are you sitting in the dark?"

I may have been facing her worried green eyes, but I stared past her at nothingness.

"Ben! Please talk to me!"

I said nothing, I just kept staring ahead of her. She took my face into her hands and continued to plead with me.

"Ben, please! Just say something! Anything!"

When I didn't say anything, she let go of me. She continued looking at me as she crossed her arms, tapping her chin with her fingers on one hand. After what felt like an eternity, she spoke again.

"Do you uh, want to shower with me?"

I didn't answer that question, either. To be frank, I didn't even know why she asked me that. A few more seconds passed and she sighed.

"Okay, well I'm going to go take a shower. I need some time to think. You can sit here in the dark all you want."

I remained quiet as she left the room.

Sometime Later

Gwen walked back into our bedroom, wearing a towel around her body and shut the door behind her.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"No." I somehow managed to speak.

"Ah! So, he speaks. Look, I know you're worried. But couldn't you be doing something even a little productive?"

This time, I didn't answer.

"You know what? I think I know how to cheer you up."

I just barely heard something hit the floor.

"Hey, look up at me."

I looked up at her and was relatively unphased by seeing her completely naked body. She wasn't even attempting to cover herself up. I let out a sigh as I stood up from the bed.

"Let me get this straight." I said, my face growing red as I looked her in the eye. "My father is lying in a hospital somewhere, possibly dying, hell, he could be ready to go into the ground tomorrow for all we know! All of that's happening and you're thinking about fucking?!"

She turned her head and avoided my gaze, seeming to be ashamed. She might have been blushing, but I honestly couldn't tell. Normally, I could see just fine in the dark. But I was really struggling to see if she really was blushing. I could hardly even see her emerald green eyes, which usually stood out like a sore thumb.

Was it possible that without the Omnitrix, the gifts from all ten of my aliens will fade?

"No." she said in a timid tone. "I was thinking about making love."

"I don't care what you call it! My dad could be dying and you're thinking about doing that! God, why does this stuff always happen to me?!"

She looked back at me.

"Huh?"

My entire body began to shake again as the tears started up again.

"Why is my life so fucked?! I've been shot in the shot in the shoulder, I got my best friend killed, I simultaneously was betrayed and almost lost my best ally, I was stabbed with a katana, I was tortured inside a simulation and now, my father was shot!"

She looked back at me with worry and sympathy, I'm sure. I made fists with both of my hands as my body continued to shake.

"It's just not fucking fair!" I screamed as I shook both of my fists.

Gwen suddenly grabbed me and hugged me against her bare chest, resting my head on her breast. She gently began to massage my back as I began sobbing into her chest.

"That's life, Ben." she whispered. "No one said that it would be fair."

I hiccupped as I sobbed into her chest.

"My life... hic... is a living h... hic... hell right now, and all... hic... you care about... hic... is having sex!"

"Shh." She said as she lightly tousled my hair. "Cut me some slack, okay? I've never been through something like this, so I can't imagine what you're thinking right now. I'm just trying to cheer you up and it's clear that I don't know what you need. But if it counts for anything, if you think it would help, I would switch places with you without hesitation."

I said nothing in return and she didn't say anything else after that, either.

One Hour Later

After a few minutes of just standing there, Gwen transitioned us to bed and got us both under the covers, without even stopping to get dressed. She was asleep by now, I could tell from the slow and steady breaths that she was making. As for me? I had been wide awake since she laid us down and that was likely not to change.

The events of the day and the news of Dad being shot played in my mind nonstop. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get them to go away. I finally gave up and got up off of Gwen, tossing the covers off as I got out of bed. I flipped on the light as she stirred, but she didn't wake up. I moved over to the closet and brought out a duffle bag.

I can't stay here, I thought.

I began angrily taking shirts off of the hangers and stuffed them into the bag. I moved on to our dresser, grabbing my keyring from the top of it and opened the bottom drawer, where my jeans were kept, then did the same thing there. I stuffed some of them into the duffel and closed the drawer. As I stood and walked to the door, Gwen sat up, pulled the sheet up to her chest and began rubbing her eyes.

"Ben?" she asked as I opened the door. "Where are you going?"

I didn't answer her. I shut the door behind me and walked down the hall to Mom and Dad's bedroom. I turned on the light on the way in and moved to their closet. I opened it and began to dig through it, until I found the batons that Mom had told me I would never use again. I grabbed them and stuffed them into my duffel, before zipping it shut.

I stood up, shut the closet door and left the room, shutting off the light on my way out. I walked down the hall as the door to our bedroom opened and Gwen stepped out, wearing nothing but a shirt that was too big for her and underwear. I passed her without a word.

"Ben, what are you doing?" she asked. "Speak to me!"

I continued walking through the living room and on my way to the front door, noticed that Sunny and Albedo were sitting on the couch watching T.V. I guess that they couldn't sleep, either. Usually it was Mom who would be out here watching T.V, but I guess she and Verdona stayed at the hospital. I didn't really care. I walked past them too and out the door, slamming it shut behind me.

Saturday, February 2nd, 2019

The Clubhouse

I don't sleep. I tell myself that it's because I can't stop thinking about Dad getting shot, but it's not. I'm thinking about how I'm going to beat Sixsix into submission. I was punching the punching bag and that was pretty much what I had been doing all night. I did take breaks here and there, just to sit down, but this was pretty much what my night had amounted to.

I probably should have been wearing boxing gloves while working the bag, but all I was working with was hand wraps. I continued punching the bag as I had been doing, but as I punched it, it wasn't the bag that I was seeing. I imagined that it was Sixsix's bloodied, bruised face that I was punching. Conversations from yesterday were still resonating within my head.

"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."

"Do we have a deal?"

"I think that's fair."

I gritted my teeth as I let out a grunt of frustration.

I can't believe that fucker double-crossed me!

I pulled my hand back and punched the bag so hard that it broke off the chain and fell to the floor. I let out a cry of pain as I drew back the hand I had just used and held it with my other hand. There was blood seeping through the edge of the hand wrap. I must have punched the bag too hard and the skin broke. Oh, and it hurt like hell.

"Hmm." I grunted.

I guess if I don't have the Omnitrix, I don't have a healing factor anymore.

I began stomping on the bag out of frustration but my anger quickly faded, being replaced by pain. I decided that it was in my best interest to quit what I was doing now and treat the wound on my hand.

Later

After treating my wound to the best of my ability, I sat in silence on the couch. As I sat there, I heard a knock at the door. I got up from the couch and opened the door, to see Nathan standing on the other side. I should have been surprised, but I didn't have the energy to give a reaction. I returned to the couch and sat down as Nathan walked in and looked around as he did.

"This is a pretty nice place you got, Tennyson."

I ignored his comment.

"What are you doing here, Nathan? And how did you even find this place?"

"Your girlfriend contacted me and gave me the address of this place. Tennyson, you're heading down a very dark path."

"Uh-huh."

I leaned forward, resting on chin against my intertwined fingers as I became absorbed in deep thoughts.

Sixsix must still be in the city. Enoch would have had him stay in the city incase Dad survived the gunshot. It shouldn't be too hard to find him. I will find him. And I will kill him.

Just then, the sound of my phone vibrating brought me out of my thoughts. I looked down at my phone and saw that Gwen was calling.

She'll just want me to come home, so we can talk this through. But there is nothing for me to talk about.

Nathan spoke up once more and judging by what he said, he must have read my mind.

"You going to take that?"

I looked up at him.

"No." I said as tapped the red decline button and stood up from the couch, grabbing the duffel bag that sat at my feet.

"Nathan, go home. There's nothing for you here."

I walked past him and was on my way out the door when I heard him sigh. So, I stopped once he began to speak again.

"Alright, just remember, Tennyson. Most men don't become monsters consciously. The line can get real blurred, and before you know it, you've crossed that line a dozen times over. Just remember that, Tennyson. Don't cross that line, don't become one of the monsters.

I had had enough of sitting around doing nothing. It was time for action. And so, I walked away from Nathan and the clubhouse, without another word.

Sixsix

Sometime Later

Downtown Bellwood

I stood on the rooftop of a building in Downtown Bellwood, sniper rifle in hand. As I stood there with it, I spoke with my employer.

"You want me to what? Not a chance in hell! Killing the kid's father was bad enough, but you want me to kill him next?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?"

"I said I'm not doing it!"

"Well, either he dies or you do. Do you really want to make this difficult?"

"If you want me to do it, I'm doubling my fee. Twenty thousand or I walk away!"

"Fine. Just make sure it gets done."

I let out a sigh of contentment.

"Alright." I said as I raised the rifle and looked through the scope. "When is this kid gonna arrive?"

"Oh, I imagine he'll be around shortly. Very shortly."

"Wait," I said as I lowered my rifle a bit. "What?"

Ben

A Few Moments Earlier

I had begun my search at the building across the street from Dad's workplace, which according to one of Gwen's voice messages, was where the shot was fired. I stood in the alley looking for potential clues. Before I could even get far, I felt my phone vibrating again. I let out a sigh as I pulled it out and yes, Gwen was calling again. I sighed as I once more pressed the decline button.

I don't know why she can't understand that I don't want to talk!

I slipped my phone back into my pocket and glanced up at the fire escape that was attached to the building, with the ladder up to it locked in place. I jumped up and managed to grip the lowest rung on the first try. When I realized that I wasn't going to be able to pull it down with just my weight, I began to climb up.

After I had gotten up the ladder, I took the stairs all the way up to the rooftop. I expected to find nothing interesting, but I was surprised when I saw Sixsix, holding a sniper rifle, standing with his back to me at the edge of the roof.

"You want me to what? No way, bud! Killing the kid's father was bad enough, but you want me to kill him next?"

I was confused as to whether or not he was talking to me, but I soon realized that he must have been talking on a com channel or something. I decided that I'd let him talk, just to see if I'd learn anything.

"I said I'm not doing it!"

As he spoke, I slowly and quietly put down my duffel bag. I unzipped it as quietly as I could and luckily, he didn't turn around.

"If you want me to do it, I'm doubling my fee. Twenty thousand or I walk away!"

He was paid ten thousand to shoot my Dad, huh? That doesn't change my feelings about this. If anything, it makes me want to kill him even more.

"Alright." he said as he raised the rifle. "When is this kid gonna arrive?"

Wait. Was he contracted to kill me next? If so, why?

I quietly began to pull out my batons and after that, began to approach him.

"Wait," he said as he lowered the rifle. "What?"

It seemed that he wasn't speaking on a com channel anymore, so I finished approaching him. Once I reached him, I grabbed the back of his head and forced it downward so that he would headbutt the raised ledge on the edge of the rooftop. As he collided it with it, he let out a pained grunt, dropping his rifle as he did.

I kicked the rifle across the rooftop so that he wouldn't be able to pick it back up. I saw a Desert Eagle attached to his thigh, so I pulled that off and threw it across the rooftop, as well. He looked up at me as I looked back down at him with anger.

"Never start with the head, the victim gets all fuzzy!" he exclaimed. "They won't feel the next..."

I swung my baton at his face and nailed him with it, cutting him off. I brought it back around and nailed him again. After that attack, he began to speak and for some reason, I stopped to hear what he had to say.

"Please, I know you're angry! But just give me a chance! Let me..."

I whacked him across the face again.

"What about my father?! Did you give him a chance?!"

I didn't allow him an opportunity to answer. I hit him again as I spoke.

"Why would you do this to me?! I never did anything to you!"

"I was just following orders!" he blurted out in between hits.

"You could have refused your orders!"

"Enoch told me that he'd pay me handsomely for my services! And he told me that payback against you may do me some good!"

"Payback?! What exactly did I do to you?!"

"You burned me alive!"

"No, I didn't! You were the one who wouldn't stop shooting and listen that night!"

"Look kid, I shot your father in the leg! The leg! I didn't want to take him from you!"

"Oh, I suppose that makes it all better?"

I continued on and drew my baton back, whacking him once more with it. After several more strikes, the glass front of his helmet shattered. I dropped my batons and went to work with my fists, which considering I had injured one of my hands while working the bag this morning, may not have been a good idea.

I bloodied him up quite a bit and once I was content that he had had enough, I left him there. I walked over to the other side of the roof where I had flung his Desert Eagle to. I picked it up and returned to where he remained on the roof. Once I reached him, I pointed the gun down at him, ready to fire. However, I didn't fire. At least not yet. As I stood there, I felt a whispering voice tickle the back of my neck.

Do it. Let the devil out.

That's when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I looked down at a puddle of rain water on the roof. I saw my reflection in the water, clear as day. But something was off about my reflection. Instead of green eyes, my reflection had red eyes. Static, red eyes. I blinked once and the red eyes were gone, replaced by brown ones.

Not green ones, brown ones. I realized then that without the Omnitrix, my eyes must have returned to their normal brown color on their own. It wouldn't be until later that I fully grasped that development.

I found myself looking back down at him, still not pulling the trigger. I couldn't generate the will or courage to pull the trigger. I was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, I didn't want this after all. I returned to the fact that Leon had been making no effort to protect himself, he wasn't trying to fight back. Was he being truthful?

That's when my thoughts were interrupted by my phone vibrating in my pocket. I let out a sigh and pulled it out and saw, to no surprise, that it was Gwen calling. It was then that I realized that she'd keep calling until she got through to me. So, I sighed as I pressed my foot down onto his neck and I answered the phone. Before I could even say anything, she beat me to it.

"Ben, just listen to what I have to say! Your dad made it through the surgery! It looks like he's going to be okay!"

That was obviously good news, but it didn't fully register with me, given the situation.

"Thank you." was all I said.

"Wait, what do you mean, 'thank you'? Ben, talk to..."

I hung up on her, retuning the phone back to my pocket and turned my attention back to Leon. I continued pointing the gun down at him, still unsure of whether or not I had the will to pull the trigger. Since seeing that reflection and hearing that voice, my anger had alleviated a little bit, but it was still very much present. I finally let out a sigh, got down on my knee and whacked him across the face with the gun, knocking him out.

"Know this. The only reason I'm letting you live is because my father is still alive."

I then dropped the gun at his feet and turned my back on him. I walked away from him and before I left, retrieved my batons. I then left the scene.

Sometime Later

The Tennyson House

I let out a hiss of pain as Gwen dabbed my bloodied knuckles with an alcohol swab.

"You're lucky that you didn't break anything without that healing factor of yours." Gwen replied. "Now, if you'd just hold still, this wouldn't hurt as much."

I grunted with annoyance, but I did as she said regardless. As she continued cleaning my wounds, she spoke.

"I told you to relax! You're so tense!"

"I am relaxed."

"You are not relaxed! You may say that, but I can see that behind your eyes, you're conflicted! That's the opposite of relaxed."

I said nothing in return.

"Look, I'm sorry that I couldn't give you the comfort that you needed. But I wish that you wouldn't have left last night. I'm aware that I'm not doing very good. But I'm trying to understand. I know how you feel right now."

"You have no idea how I feel right now."

"I know what you're thinking."

"You have no idea what I'm thinking."

"Ben, please stop this."

I looked up at her with angered, pained eyes.

"Stop what? Stop what?"

"You're doing it again. You're pushing us away! I know that you're in pain right now, but pushing us away won't help!"

I let out a huff.

"It appears that you don't understand, after all."

She looked at me with confusion.

"What?"

"It has nothing to do with me being in pain. I'm pushing you guys away because I don't want any of you to get hurt like Dad got hurt."

Suddenly, she pressed the alcohol swab down onto my knuckle, causing me to hiss with pain as the alcohol seeped out of the tissue and onto the back of my hand.

"What the hell, Gwen?!"

"You know, you kinda deserved that."

I didn't say anything in return.

"Ben, you need to listen to me. Pushing us away under the guise that you're protecting us from harm will only make things worse on all fronts. Do you want to cause a rift within the family? Do you want your loved ones to think sour thoughts about you?"

I turned my gaze away from her.

"Well?"

"It would be better than you guys being dead."

She slammed her fist down onto the table.

"No, damn it! Can't you see what's wrong with that?! How would you be able to cope if we died and you knew that in our last encounter, all we had to say to each other were negative things?"

I didn't answer, but it would seem that I didn't need to.

"You're not in your right state of mind, Ben. And I know why. I want to try and help you. So, just let me be a good, caring girlfriend, okay? I want to help you with whatever comes next, every step of the way. And I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

I didn't say anything still.

"Okay, no just keep holding still. I'll have this cleaned in no time and then we'll eat something and go get washed up. Then it's an early bedtime. You need your sleep. I'm sure it'll make you feel better."

I didn't give a reply. I just sat there and tried to relax.

Sometime Later

After we ate dinner, Gwen insisted upon giving me a bath. While she was in the tub with me, no less.

"Hold still! Washing your back is hard enough with this slippery bar of soap, but you're constantly moving around!"

I groaned and did my best to stop moving and relax. I noticed that scrubbing my back became less of a struggle for Gwen, or so it seemed.

"There we go." She whispered into my ear, getting real close to me. "Purrfect, baby."

I felt a shudder rip through my body.

"Is this supposed to be a bath or a sexual encounter?"

Another shudder went through me as she gently licked my earlobe.

"Could be both." She whispered again.

"Not interested."

She giggled as I felt her move back a little bit.

"I was just kidding. That is the last thing you need to be doing right now."

I let out a sigh of... what? Contentment? Disappointment? Well, whatever it was, I was able to relax a little bit. She continued scrubbing my back and eventually, I felt her began to use the warm water in the tub to wash my back off. At this point, I decided that I might not want to sit there anymore.

"I've had just about enough of this." I said as I began to stand up from the bathtub.

"Oh no, you don't!"

Gwen surprised me by moving her legs upward and wrapping them around my waist, forcing me back down. I hadn't even gotten to stand up, let alone stand that much, but my back slammed against her, causing both of us to groan with pain.

"That hurt for me too, Ben. That wouldn't have happened if you had just stayed with me, dummy."

I didn't say anything in return, but I grumbled with annoyance.

"Now, just lie back so I can do your chest."

I complied and laid back onto her, resting my head against the side of hers, with nothing to support the back of it.

"This is really uncomfortable." I spoke in a strained voice.

"If you just relax and stay still, this won't take too long."

She began scrubbing my chest and as she did, I felt the urge to speak.

"Keep it above the waist, Gwen."

She chuckled.

"No matter what I do, you worry."

"Just do what I say, Gwen."

"Don't worry, honey. I already told you that you have no business doing that in your current state."

We continued laying there in silence as she continued to scrub my chest. And after a while, she retracted the bar of soap and put it in the soap holder sitting on the edge of the tub. She then began to wash my chest off and afterward, I was surprised when she wrapped her arms around my chest. I had expected her to allow me to wash my legs on my own, but that didn't seem to be her intention.

"Can we just stay like this for a while?" she asked in an honest, innocent tone.

"But this makes me really uncomfort..."

"What if I try this...?"

Suddenly, Gwen lifted her and myself up a little bit and rested us up against the cushion attached to the back of the tub, which my Mom frequently used when she took baths. She scooted us over, so that her right arm touched the very edge of the tub and so that we both could rest our heads against the cushion.

"Won't this make you uncomfortable?" I asked.

"Don't worry. I'll manage. I just want to enjoy the moment."

I complied for a few seconds, but not long after, I spoke.

"Gwen..."

"Shh... Don't ruin the moment. Let's just relax and enjoy each other's company."

I eventually obeyed her this time and settled into her grip, with no more words. Eventually, I gave into temptation and took her hands in mine. This caused her to squeeze my hands and I felt her lean forward a bit to kiss my cheek. And that was that. That was as far as our romantic behavior went in that moment.

Sometime Later

What was supposed to be a quick bath turned into, I would say, Gwen and I's most intimate moment. There was no "naughtiness" involved, just gentle, intimate cuddling in the warm, soapy water. I would like to tell you that eventually Gwen and I switched positions, so it was me who was hugging her to my chest, but that wouldn't be truthful.

She wanted to be the one who was holding me, to help me relax. And yeah, it did help me relax a little bit more, but my mind was still conflicted. After the bath/snuggling session, we went to bed. We got into our pajamas and laid down, with Gwen lying on top of me. She looked down at me with a loving gaze as she gently stroked my cheek.

"I want you to listen to me, okay? Everything's going to be alright. No one's going to take you away from me. And no one's going to take us away from you. I promise."

I didn't say anything in return.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk. I just want you to understand."

She wrapped her arms around me and pulled herself closer, so that she was hugging herself against me. I felt her lips graze my cheek.

"I love you too much to allow something to happen to you."

I still said nothing. She snuggled up against me and rested her head on my chest.

"Now, you need to get some sleep. So go to sleep now."

I laid there, but I didn't try to fall asleep. After a while, I got the urge to speak about the events of today.

"Gwen, I almost did something terrible today."

She didn't answer, but I felt her shifting on top of me. At last, she spoke.

"You're supposed to be trying to get to sleep, not talking."

Hearing her say that made my heart sink.

Here I am trying to seek comfort from Gwen, just like she wants me to, and she shoots me down.

I felt her shift once again.

"Well? Don't leave me in suspense. What is it?"

I took a breath and prepared myself for what I was about to tell her.

"I almost killed Sixsix – Leon – today. And I would have been okay with it."

She was silent at first.

"It's that bad for you, huh?"

"He tried to kill my father. What else would you expect?"

"I mean, fair enough, I guess. Um, what made you decide not to?"

"When you called me and I heard that Dad was going to be okay, that's one thing. Another thing is that he never once tried to fight back."

I decided not to tell her about the weird reflection that I had seen.

"What does that mean? Do you think he's sorry about what he did?"

"After some thinking, there might be a possibility that he is sorry. He told me that he made a point to shoot him in the leg, instead of a more lethal area."

"I see."

"There's one more thing, though."

"And that is?"

"He didn't try to kill Dad of his own volition. Enoch put him up to it."

"The insane leader of the Forever Knights? What will you do about it, then?"

"Sixsix is just a dog. A drone who was just following orders. I now know that he's not the one I'm supposed to be mad at."

"Ben?"

"I'm going to kill Enoch for what he's done to me and our family. And I'll make it slow. I'll only kill him once I'm content in knowing that he's suffered enough."

"Ben, you're scaring me."

"You probably should be scared. Enoch made me suffer and so now it's my turn to make him suffer."

I shut my eyes, feeling a little better now that I had gotten that off of my chest. I half-expected Gwen to speak some more about what I had said, but it seemed that she had nothing left to say.

Good. Now it's time to actually get some sleep. There is work to be done tomorrow. I need to put together a team to raid Enoch's building. And I think I know just who to start with.

Author's Notes:

* So, that's it for this chapter! What did you guys think?

* I hope you guys enjoyed this one. I'm going to go though, so have a Bwen-tastic day and bye.

Review Responses

Daniel6 (Chapter 143): That dialogue was lifted from Spider-Man: Homecoming! I approve!

Thanks, Daniel. That scene from Homecoming was the inspiration between the confrontation between Ben and Director Steel, so I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for the review, as always.

Next Chapter: Ben and Nathan have a long conversation.