Chapter 15: Power and Responsibility

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Ben 10 Or Any Of The Characters. I Don't Own The Rights To Nathan Black Or Any Associated Characters, The Rights Go To annihalator2015

Disclaimer: This Series/Story Has Nothing To Do With The Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Cartoon Series. Any Similarities That May Pop Up Aren't Intentional

Author's Note:

* Hello and welcome to Chapter Fifteen!

* So, this is going to be a big chapter, maybe longer than the ones I've posted prior. But these next two chapters are probably going to be the biggest chapters for this story so far. After next chapter, things will really take off and they'll continue taking off from there!

* Anyway, that's all I will say about that. Let's get on with the chapter!

Earth-6101

Friday, September 8th, 2017

Northwest Entertainment Center

Ben

I stood in one of the offices in the Entertainment Center, after having been directed here to collect the prize money. And surprisingly, I still hadn't timed out at this point. I stood in front of a desk, where another person sat, perplexed by my "costume". We were currently going through the process of getting me my money. Or so I thought. He took out a pad of some kind of paper and looked up at me.

"Okay, then." He said. "If I could just get your name, I can write a check for you to cash at a later date."

I felt myself go cold.

"Um, a check?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Of course."

I began to scratch at the back of my neck, which I found to be very difficult with the rock hard skin.

"Um, I don't suppose you could just give me the money in cash?"

"Oh my, no. Writing a check is the preferred method that they have us do here."

I forced a sigh, already seeing where this was going. He looked back down at his desk.

"So, if I could get your name or some identification, we can get your check signed."

"Um, actually—" As I began speaking, he looked back up at me. "I can't give you my name. And I don't have identification to give you, either."

He looked back at me, before he took a sharp breath through his nose. I wasn't very surprised when he put the pad of paper away.

"No identification, no prize money. You will forfeit your winnings and they'll go to the person who was the second closest to winning."

Why didn't I see this coming?

After that, he seemed to completely disregard my existence. He continued looking down at his desk and eventually, I just had to speak.

"Okay, then."

I then turned and left the office.

Sometime Later

Bellwood – Red Light Shopping District

I walked on the sidewalk on the way home after my win had turned into an embarrassing failure. I had finally reverted back to my normal self and had taken off the black ski mask, which was now stuffed back in my sweater pocket.

So, I won. But at the same way, it doesn't really matter that I won. I wasn't able to claim my prize. And if I'm being honest, I'm kind of glad that I didn't get the money. I was so excited with the prospect of getting the money that I needed, that I hadn't considered the realistic side of things.

Let's say that I did end up winning the money. What then? What if my Mom caught me with a check for three hundred dollars in my name? Or if not that, what if I had gone up to Best Buy and tried to use the money to buy that laptop I want? Would they have turned me away or worse because it may be suspicious for a kid my age to be walking around by himself with that much money?

I guess there is the more obvious option of ordering it online and having it delivered to the house, but even that isn't without its problems! Mom will eventually notice the laptop, if she doesn't notice it from the beginning and she'll be wondering where I got the money for it! She knew when I'd be lying and I'd be forced to tell the truth!

There's no way that she'd approve of me fighting for prize money and she'd probably use risking my own safety as an excuse, then I'd be grounded! And of course, I'd have to reveal the alien watch to my parents, which I'm not even sure what it is yet and I have no idea how that would go over! God, what was I thinking?! How did I get to this point, where I was considering abusing my new abilities? What's that phrase that Dad told me?

Before I could even rack my brain to remember, a commotion ahead of me caused me to look up at last. As I got closer, I realized that the noise was coming from one of those old mom and pop convenience stores. Yelling and screaming could be heard inside and just then, a beefy looking man ran out of the store and towards me.

He was wearing all black and a beanie. And he also had a couple stacks of dollar bills in his hand as he ran toward me. Just then, an elderly couple came out of the store, just in time for the guy to run right past me, bumping my shoulder as he ran past, while I did nothing. I turned to watch him go and after a few seconds, turned again and continued walking past the elderly couple and their store. As I walked past them, the old man said something to me.

"Why didn't you stop him? You could have tripped him or something!"

I slightly slowed down as I passed them.

"It's not my problem." I muttered as I looked back at the ground.

"Why you little brat!" the old lady exclaimed.

As I walked away, I began to feel a pain in the back of my head and neck, but I ignored it. A second or two later, I was hit in the back of the head with something that felt slightly metallic, perhaps an empty soda can. I ignored that, too.

Sometime Later

The Suburbs

I had finally got back into the suburbs that I lived in. I was walking pretty slowly, still looking down at the ground as I went.

Almost home. Then I can just go to sleep and forget all about everything that happened tonight.

I forced a sigh as I looked up to the path ahead of me. As I looked ahead, I noticed flashing red and blue lights. A police car. Or an ambulance. I couldn't tell which one it was at this distance.

Something bad must have happened. Was there a break-in or did someone have a heart attack or something?

As I got closer, I finally realized that it was a police car. However, that wasn't the worst news that hit me in that moment. I just now realized that the police car was in my driveway. And not only that, but my Grandpa Max and Grandma Verdona's car was parked out on the curb. I felt a chill go down by spine as I began to panic.

Oh no, I thought.

After that, I began full on sprinting the rest of the way toward my house, completely unaware of what I was about to walk into.

Later

The Tennyson House

My ears are ringing. They're ringing so bad that I can't hear anything. The police are talking to my Grandparents, but I can't make out what they're saying. A short recap of what's happened: my parents are dead. They died outside, a short distance from my house. Why they died was pretty clear to me. They had been out looking for me, no doubt.

Why else would they be out this late at night? One of them must have noticed that I was gone and they went out looking for me. But that's just speculation. None of us can confirm that this is why they were out there, but it's pretty clear to me, at least. They were killed in the crossfire of a drive-by perpetrated by a gang local to Bellwood, the Sons of Dagon.

The drive-by was led by the leader of the gang, Vilgax. That wasn't his real name. He was widely known by most people in the city, wanted for several crimes, but still somehow managed to get away every time they got close to catching him. No one knew what his real name was, he just refused to be called anything other than "Vilgax". Of course, I wouldn't find all of this out until later, when I was finally able to listen.

If you were hoping for a little of "I'll avenge you, Mom and Dad!", then don't bother. I was in too much shock to even think like that. My ears continue to ring as I stared down at the floor. Grandma Verdona came over to try to hug me, but as soon as she touched me, I recoiled. I got up from the couch and walked over to the corner of the living room, where I sat down alone. Eventually, an unprecedented amount of time passed and the police officers left. My ears continued ringing as I felt something touch my shoulder. I finally snapped out of my daze and looked up at my Grandparents.

"What?" I asked after coming out of my daze.

"Are you okay, Ben?" Grandpa Max asked.

Am I okay? What kind of question was that?!

Of course, I didn't say that. I let out a sad sigh.

"Um, no. I'm not okay. I've lost everything."

Grandma Verdona looked at me with teary eyes.

"You haven't lost everything, Ben. We're—"

"Where will I go? What will I do now?"

Grandpa Max spoke up for my Grandmother.

"You'll come live with us and your cousin, Lucy."

"I... come live... with you guys... and Lucy." I repeated what he said in a long and drawn out manor.

"Of course. It's the most sensible option."

I suppose he's right, it is the most sensible option.

He reached out his hand to me.

"Come along, then. It's late and you need to get some sleep."

I didn't move from my spot.

"Ben." he said in a gentler tone this time.

He held out his hand to me. Without a word, I took his hand and he pulled me to my feet.

Sometime Later

Grandpa Max and Grandma Verdona's House

By the time we got back to their house, it was technically already Saturday morning. It was past midnight at the very least. Once we got inside, I was about to climb the stairs to go to the bedroom that I always slept in when I used to stay the night here, when Grandma stopped me.

"Ben, honey, can I fix you anything, so you don't go to sleep on an empty stomach?"

I turned to look at her and flashed her a sad smile.

"No, thanks." I said.

Besides, Grandpa Max stepped in for me right after that, anyways.

"Verdona, the boy doesn't need food right now. He's had a hell of a night, we all have. What he needs right now is sleep."

She nodded seeming to agree with him. He turned to me.

"Go up to bed, Ben. Get some sleep. You really need it."

Get some sleep. How am I supposed to do that after hearing that my parents had just died less than two hours ago? I'll be up all night!

He seemed to read my mind.

"Try, Ben. Please just try to get some sleep."

I nodded as I turned once again for the stairs.

"Okay. Good night then."

"Good night, Ben." Grandma spoke up again. "We love you."

"Yeah." I said as I climbed the stairs. "Me, too."

As I walked toward what would no doubt eventually become by bedroom, I passed the door to Lucy's bedroom, which was cracked open. I stopped and pushed the door ever so slightly open, to see darkness in the room, as well as Lucy, lying asleep in her bed.

Shouldn't wake her up. She doesn't need to be included in this tragedy yet. She'll only be up with me all night if I wake her.

I returned her door to the slightly cracked open position, before I moved on to my room. Once I reached the room, I entered through the already open door and turned on the light, to reveal that the room was virtually unchanged from the last time I was here. How long ago was it? A few months? A year? I was in too much shock to remember. So much shock that while I would cry tonight, most of it wouldn't come until later.

I walked past the bed and to the closet. I opened it and took the black ski mask out of my jacket pocket, shamefully hiding it in there before I closed the door once more. I then walked back over to the foot of my bed and just stood there, before I shut off the light. And I just continued standing there after that, in the dark.

So, let's go over what happened, one last time. I snuck out without telling my parents to go win some money that I wouldn't have been able to claim regardless. And my parents went out too, no doubt to look for me. While they were out looking, they were killed. My parents are dead because of me. If I had just stayed home, this never would have happened. It's my fault.

I finally flopped down onto the bed in front of me, not bothering to take off my shoes or put on pajamas. I pressed my face into the pillow and finally began to cry harder than I ever had before.

Author's Note:

* And that's it for this chapter.

* So, I know this might have been a pretty negative, depressing chapter. But this isn't out of left field, I had this planned from the very beginning. This event will serve as one of the main driving forces that will change Ben into the person that he will become in later chapters.

* Don't fret if you don't exactly like this. Ben will make it through it. There will be many ups and downs in this story and this is one of the bigger ones. Just trust in me. I have a plan for this story and I think that you guys will like what's to come in future chapters.

* That's about going to do it for me. Please, by all means tell me what you thought of these last two chapters. I'm very curious about any thoughts that you could have. Anyway, I'm going to go, though. Have a fantastic day and bye.

Review Responses

Guest Review (Chapter 14): Come on man, not the Spider-Man uncle Ben cliche

I mean, yes it's kind of that cliché, but at the same time, it's different. There are going to be different things that you wouldn't see in the "Spider-Man uncle Ben cliche", as you put it. But if you still end up not liking it, I recommend you just leave. I wouldn't stick around either if I wasn't enjoying a story. Thanks for the review, as always.

Next Chapter: Kevin shows Ben something akin to sympathy at school on Monday. Nathan and Gwen assist Ben in moving his stuff into his grandparents' house. And on the following Saturday, the main cast attends the funeral of Ben's parents.