Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10.
Chapter 31 – Mazel Tov?
South Dakota; Omnitrix City; February 8th, 2018; 12:35PM.
Gwendolyn stood around the command deck and its circular hologlass projector table joined by her fiancé Ben, her in-law cousin Lucy, the top Plumber recruit Rook Blanco, and the smartest human on Earth Cooper Daniels; there was a seat empty as Charmcaster had no intentions of joining them for the final bout, bringing down Castle Prometheus on top of him was revenge enough for her. Still their team was formidable enough, and their enemy was on his last legs, all they needed to do was finally neutralize the threat and their heroes had never been more equipped to do so.
Gwendolyn pulled up a green holographic detailed map of Bellwood, looking over the wreckage and nearby areas to locate the target, "Cooper, is there any way you could isolate his Antitrix's signal and triangulate his exact location?" she asked as they pensively brainstormed ideas.
He nodded in response, "Even if I did, we still have a hell of a fight on our hands, is there any way you could get Charmcaster in on this?" Gwen noticed his eyes already doing as she asked due to the neon blue lights humming from the veins in his iris' that connect to his pupils.
Ben was staring off, not really paying attention, just looking at the wreckage of his childhood home, "Hope wants nothing to do with Earth, as much as we managed to bond, its not a favor she's willing to do right now," Gwen responded.
Rook spoke up adding to their strategy, "We can contact Magister Wes Greene and have an entire Plumber Unit deployed to surround him once he has been located," though if anyone had the means and motive to assist them with ending Prometheus it would be Wes however, he was still in mourning of his late daughter and having gotten to know him, now the death of his partner Kevin. He was still old, and these things took a toll on any person.
"We don't need that much help, he's weaker now…" Ben finally said, getting their attention as he was the last to encounter Prometheus on an intimate level. "He stopped hunting Omnitrix cores because they aren't enough, he needs one like mine that's been fused permanently to its host. He also knew you would give me an amp when he killed Gwen Ten, more power for him to take," still feeling exhausted and unkept, he yawned before continuing, "You don't need an army, or a Plumber Unit; we can take him alone, he's fragile and every transformation puts him in incredible pain."
"Perhaps that is why he stopped attacking the city at random, slipping into hiding is likely his best option to recuperate from cellular degeneration," Rook pointed out as Cooper's search narrowed, him still looking meant Prometheus likely had a Cooper Daniels on his Earth with similar abilities, allowing himself to hide in ways that he wouldn't think of.
"How's the search coming?" Lucy asked out loud, usually used to hearing about how quickly Cooper could use his abilities, she wondered what could possibly be delaying him.
The technopath sighed, "He isn't using the Antitrix so it's obviously a bit harder to isolate… he's also avoiding all CCTV and I couldn't spot him at any train stations or airports," he groaned frustratedly before turning around and walking over to his desk where his most advanced equipment was hooked up. "It may take some time to find him, forty-five minutes maybe an hour. I'm not sure." He finished by plopping himself down into a very expensive chair that rotated to view all the holoscreens he summoned at his desk.
Gwendolyn took a breath and finally gave her orders, "Alright, Rook I want you helping Cooper locate Prometheus while I take care of Ben; for now, Lucy is on standby…" giving her a quick glance, Lucy returned a fierce salute.
"Aye, captain!" she giggled.
As they separated to do as they were just instructed, Ben glared up at the news footage still projected of his home under siege; Gwendolyn noticed his worried expression and grabbed his hand reminding him of his surroundings. "Let's go get you showered and shaved, hero…" she gently guided him away from the screen as he pulled his eyes towards the elevator.
"Sorry, I was just thinking about something," Ben pressed the button that summoned the advanced high-speed elevator, Gwendolyn tilted her head before responding.
The doors split open as they walked in, "Yea I mean, the way we've had to say so many goodbyes recently on such short notice, I was thinking…" Ben watched the doors close in front of them as he made up his mind.
"That's never a good sign," Gwen teased folding her arms across her chest, feeling the motion of the cylindrical elevator rising up towards the eightieth floor, where he kept a penthouse suite available for them both if needed spite enjoying their apartment in the city much more.
Ben ran his hand through his hair quickly before giving a fake chuckle and refocusing, "Seriously though, after we take down Prometheus, I want to take some time off from all of this, just a week or two," they exited the elevator as Gwen thought it over, considering the ramifications of such a vacation.
Their penthouse was quite lavish but not excessive by any means; large, advanced windows lined the walls with a spectacular view of the city they were building below. Gwendolyn led him through the living room and toward a grey couch by one of the massive windows where he laid down on his stomach. "I don't know, where would we even go?" she asked as she allowed her aura to encompass her palms in a gentle blue healing flame, ready to begin gliding it over his sore muscles.
"That's the best part," Ben muttered as he felt the soothing energy replenishing his stamina with every passing moment, "We could go anywhere we want; Bahamas, Paris, Los Angeles, Switzerland, you name it."
"That… that sounds amazing, and I think we deserve it for sure but, for now lets just keep out focus on the priority at hand. We owe it to the friends that aren't here now to end this once and for all," Gwendolyn reminded him of this as the general fog that was clouding his mind slowly lifted as her healing magic worked its wonders on both his physical and his mental self.
"Right, I'm sorry, I just want you to know that I meant what I said about wanting to marry and spend my life with you. I know I've been scattered but, it's the one thing I've been clinging on to," Ben felt her place her hands firmly on his back, the energy stopped its flow as her hands dispersed the visible aura she was using. He blinked a few times before turning his head over to find her eyes watering up, a sniffle erupting from her cute button nose, he couldn't help but sit himself up. Quickly wrapping his arms around her shoulders, pulling her into his torso, "Shhhh, it's okay babe, it's-"
"No, it's not!" Gwen cried with a defeated tone, looking up into his eyes with disheartened puppy dog eyes gleaming with tears, "Y-You almost died, and I had to m-make all of these really tough decisions… and n-now you want me to be leader and I don't know if I can do that!"
Ben narrowed his eyes and rethought his decision from earlier, holding Gwendolyn tighter he pulled her back into an embrace where she could cry into his shoulder for a minute. She had been through almost as much emotional torture as he had been in the physical sense, "Maybe that wasn't fair of me, we're getting married now so, maybe we should delegate the responsibility fifty-fifty, we make decisions together and that way neither one of us is ever facing too much at once."
After a few seconds of silence, the sniffling stopped and she shifted in his arms to look up into his eyes, "I can work with… fifty-fifty," she smiled a bit as he reached up and wiped one of her tears away, having cried out her frustrations finally, she was able to recompose herself as Ben pulled away and stood up, feeling more himself than ever.
"Just remember that we'll always be a team, no matter what, okay?"
Gwendolyn nodded apprehensively but ended up smiling widely at him as the last of her tears dried up, "Alright, partner," she chided with a light giggle.
Ben realized she was back to her old self, being an empath meant sometimes her emotions could get the best of her, though he always found himself uniquely equipped to handle her mood-swings. "I'm going to take a much-needed shower…" He announced as he took a few steps away, removing his boxers as he did so; Gwendolyn was taken aback slightly by his physique and how it had hardened the muscle mass across his body since the last time they'd been intimate. She had been so caught up with his health that she'd barely noticed that his hardened six-pack had quickly become an even leaner eight-pack, his torso and shoulders had broadened significantly as well, there was no arguing that he was a perfect physical specimen. "It may be a little inappropriate to take a weeklong trip for vacation but… I think we deserved a little alone time; don't you think?" Ben noticed the look in his fiancé's sparkling emerald eyes as she scanned his naked body, the lust that quickly overcame her frustrated tears and saddened expression.
Gwendolyn blinked a few times as the heat flooded into her cheeks giving her complexion a crimson splash of color which spread over the bridge of her nose, "Ben?!" she whispered playfully as he reached out and grabbed her wrists, barely even trying to pull back, she fell into his embrace as he tugged her close. "We only have like, a half an hour!"
Ben wrapped one arm around her waist and the other snaked around her neck, caressing her blushing cheeks with his thumb, "Gwendolyn," he spoke into her ear with a heated breath, being an empath had never put her at such a disadvantage, feeling his lust roll over her in waves, the sincerity of his passion toward her, "I think you know from experience what I can get done in just thirty minutes." He finished his sentence by slowly moving his hand down from her waist, until he had her right ass-cheek cupped in his hand, feeling the tight yet smooth nano-weave fabric that encased her entire body in slick blue and black armor, he couldn't help but squeeze.
Gwendolyn gave out a moaned yelp in response, immediately pulling back just a few centimeters to properly look into her future husbands matching emerald eyes. It wasn't long before he closed his eyes and pressed his lips against her upper neck, kissing her jawline, gently grazing his mouth across her exposed neck. Feeling a heated energy coursing through her with a deep pleasurable fire spreading in between her legs, he suckled gently on her skin as she tilted her head to give him better access to her neck. Biting her lower lip seductively, she pushed him off of her only to give him an intensely erotic expression. She gave into the rush of emotions that flowed off of him and double tapped the Alpha Rune hanging over her neck, recalling the armor that encased her body. The liquid metal suit crept across her skin as it slowly retracted the material back into the microscopic housing unit layered over the rune. Once it was gone she was left in just a grey pair of denim jeans paired with a navy-blue blouse, she didn't hesitate for even a moment to grab the sides of his head and mash her lips against his. Making out with their lips separating and reconnecting over and over again, the smacking of their tongues against one another's filled through as they shared their saliva. Gwendolyn placed her hand on Ben's chest, thrusting her palm forwards with a light pulse of mana, he was sent backwards suddenly.
Ben hit the back of the wall from the force of Gwen's shove, watching as her expression shifted, her eyelids hanging low, and her pupils focused only on what was bulging between his legs. Her expression had been taken by arousal, he watched her unbutton her blouse never taking her eyes away, slowly revealing a lighter blue shaded bra hiding her well-endowed bust. With all of the crime fighting and dramatic mystery solving they'd been doing these last few weeks, neither hero had time for expressing their love sexually. He watched as Gwendolyn reached behind her back to unclasp the lacey blue double-d sized fabric that held her bust comfortably together, pulling it off and allowing it to fall seductively to his feet. Ben couldn't help but stare at her creamy untanned skin that practically gleamed in the sunlight from the bay windows, she teased him by grazing her hands gently over her rounded cleavage before circling her pink areolas in front of him. Squeezing them together as she stepped forward into arms reach, he was tempted to audibly express to her how amazing she looked but was interrupted by another forceful move from the sorceress, enjoying their respective super strength, she grabbed his wrists and pinned them against the wall at his sides.
Ben knew that spite being the one to usually initiate their intimate moments, and her denial of the fact, Gwen had always been the more sexually inclined of the two. This rang true as even with his enhanced strength, he could feel her ferocity on keeping his arms pinned as she pressed her lips against his, quickly intertwining their tongues as her hands kept his tightly pressed against the wall. Fervently enjoying the texture of each other's lips caressing one another slowly at first but, gaining momentum as the heat rushed through them.
Gwendolyn pulled back, releasing her grip on Ben's wrists, pulling his ecstatic frame from against the wall, and practically kicking him stumbling into the fancy bathroom they stood in front of. He watched from the pearly white walk-in shower as she removed both her jeans and her matching teal blue panties at the same time. Pulling them off from around her ankles, she tossed them through the small corridor at him, pulling them off only to find her strutting seductively towards him. "Oh… wow, it's been a while since we-" she interrupted him by placing a finger over her lips.
"I know, I've almost forgotten how big he was," She stepped into the shower with her eyes directly on the member hanging eight inches from his in between his legs. Reaching down she gently turned on the water as Ben blinked once or twice staring at her glowing perfection. He absolutely loved the fact that she cut her hair before rescuing him as he'd been thinking about how great it looked since he returned. Her impeccable beauty and tight six packed abdomen made her appear like an Amazonian Goddess of some kind. The steam poured from the hot water jets that sprayed the shower from multiple angles, the mage's pupils lit up bright blue with mana encompassing the entirety of her eyes, flashing a mischievous smile at Ben, she stepped forwards advancing into the bathroom. Pushing against Ben's torso with one hand sent him off his feet and into the wall of the already running walk-in shower, cracking the drywall that came crumbling down at their feet, however; with the water running from half a dozen different hoses, they hardly noticed it. His enhanced durability allowed him to shake off the damage with ease, reaching his arms out as Gwen came in closer, pressing her breasts slicked with water against his chest while he wrapped his arms around her neck. His lips melded with hers over and over, their breaths were almost as hot as the steam that slowly surrounded them clouding over the thin layer of glass bordering the shower.
Ben pulled back for a moment disconnecting his tongue from hers and taking a few centimeters of space for himself to look into her still glowing eyes, only now realizing that his were also lit up with an emerald luminosity. "S-Shouldn't we get protection?" he huffed almost out of breath.
The lust and desire that filled every heated breath Gwendolyn took gave her rush that she never wanted to end, not even for a moment, as she began grinding her crotch against his member as soon as he pulled his kiss away, "Fuck protection," she whispered with a confident smirk before pushing him back into the wall with more force than before, not that he even felt it. It wasn't long before the penthouse was filled with the sweet song of passionate moans representing a love being rekindled by lust.
…
Twenty-Three Minutes Later
Ben and Gwen huffed in a pool of water and sweat as they laid out across the king-sized bed that took up the bedroom area they'd moved to while in an ardent haze, as she caught her breath, she giggled a bit leaning her wet head of pixie-cut auburn hair onto his bare chest. "Wow," she muttered through deep breaths staring up at the ceiling.
"I know," Ben responded with the same out of air expression, having satisfied himself completely with the love of his life.
Gwendolyn reached up to place a hand on her forehead, looking back at what happened in the last twenty minutes, "If I wasn't wearing the Alpha Rune, I might not have been able to walk today," she too was completely exhausted having been satisfied three or four times in that time frame. "At least I know now that everything is up and running with you, definitely nothing broken here," she finished her sentence with a smile by patting down the sheets over his hard-on.
"I'm glad I got a good review," Ben joked as he glanced down at her from his slightly angled position, sitting up a bit so that he could lean down and place his lips against hers. This time it was much slower and heartfelt, matching his lips to hers like a long-lost puzzle piece, he felt her soft pink lips press against his own prompting him to take a taste of her mouth.
"Ben Ten Thousand and Lucky Girl, please report to the holodeck, thank you." The intercom system announced in Rook's voice very officially and well spoken, until they heard clattering and someone else grabbing the microphone.
"I told you he owns the building, this is important. Ben, Gwen, get down her now!" Cooper announced himself into the mic, "You guys need to see this."
Ben sighed audibly as he watched his fiancé pull herself out of the sheets, "We… have to… go," giggling and kissing in between words as she got up slowly, giving him time to admire her body. Another mischievous smile fluttered over her expression, turning around, and swaying her hips seductively as he watched her leave the room, "C'mon hero, time to get to work."
He groaned and pulled the sheets off of himself, quickly dashing with a bit of super-speed behind her, slapping her already sore ass cheeks on his way to where they'd disrobed in front of the bathroom, "Eek," Gwen shouted involuntarily, a tingle shooting up her spine from the sensation. Watching as his fit form dashed across the room, she found herself biting at her lower lip again with arousal. The young mage couldn't help but feel slightly guilty having all of these perverse thoughts after all of the death and suffering that had been going on around her but, simultaneously she knew that if she dwelled on the negative she'd only end up miserable. Ben knew that so it was obvious that he was trying to cheer her up, deep down though she knew with her empathic abilities that he was incredibly saddened by Kevin, Kai, Albedo, and her double's fate.
…
After dressing themselves, Ben and Gwendolyn raced into the high-speed elevator and down to floor ten of Tennyson Tower, the futuristic doors slid apart automatically as they approached the entrance to the command center from the elevator corridor. As they walked confidently through the doors, they both double tapped their respective housing unit for nanotech summoning their new armor to spread across their bodies. Ben and Gwen found that now that they were both at their full strength, the lining of their suits illuminated emerald and hot-pink for omni-energy and mana respectively.
"Woah, you're glowing," Ben pointed at her and announced just as he glanced down at his own suit which was now simmering as brightly as his eyes once did only on a larger scale, "Damn, so am I…" he noticed.
Gwendolyn only giggled as they made their way toward the holodeck, each of her six Charms of Bezel were radiating a pink energy with the same signature as the Alpha Rune embedded into her chest just above her bust.
"Both of you are stronger than you've ever been, the suits are channeling each of your individual energies at their maximum capacity, you're welcome by the way…" Cooper announced as he was multi-tasking his efforts into eleven different holoscreens hovering around him at once, standing in front of the command deck with Rook and Lucy joining him around it.
Rook cleared his throat and stood as Ben and Gwen stepped into his line of sight, glancing over at the distracted technopath, he cleared his throat once more before speaking, "Excuse me, Cooper, did you not have something urgent to speak with the Tennysons about?" his inability to speak with proper contractions was a little odd, however; a certain Sludgepuppy found a heat rising in her chest that spread into her cheeks, all she could think of was how cute and innocent he seemed.
Coop glanced up at them, blinking once or twice as his eyes returned to their normal shade from a techno-organic neon blue pupil that he used to look into software faster than any super-computer on the planet. He minimized a few screens as he addressed them, "Oh yea, right; I found Prometheus and… well, I can't say I'm surprised," after dispelling over half a dozen holographic monitors, he projected a map of Bellwood zoomed in to the surrounding city blocks in the west.
"That's…" Ben narrowed his eyes for only a second or two longer before folding his arms over his chest, "That's my house! I thought he destroyed it, why is he there?" he questioned as Cooper highlighted certain points in certain buildings that lined all across the city.
"Because he's planted relatively huge anti-matter bombs all along the city, if they go off-" Cooper was interrupted as Gwendolyn stepped in already knowing the consequences of letting Prometheus detonate the charges.
Gwendolyn looked over the crimson beacons highlighted across the map, over a dozen of them along the busiest streets in their hometown, "The entire city will be eradicated instantly, the planet will be torn completely apart in seconds by that many blasts," she felt the weight of the planet on her shoulders suddenly as she ran her fingers through her hair, quickly turning to Ben who was looking at the map himself, "What are we going to do?"
Ben gave a long sigh and cracked his knuckles over his fingerless armored gloves, "Like you said earlier, we finish it," he summoned the energy from his suit into his eyes for an intense glare at the monitors displaying his old family home. "As far as a plan goes, I think I have a few ideas…" his glare became more confident as he smirked with thoughts on how to execute his plan.
…
Bellwood; New York; February 8th, 2018; 3:02PM.
Ben walked alone through the wreckage of his old block leading to his parent's house, he tried to reach out to them to let them know but, they weren't returning his calls from Europe. Regardless, he went forward with his plan and figured he could front the bill for any damages later; memories from his childhood came rushing back as he sauntered through burning debris and abandoned cars in the street. The surrounding several blocks had been evacuated already luckily, leaving this entire area as a battleground for the final bout. He remembered a time when things weren't so complicated, where Grandpa Max helped his Father build his first bike, and former helped him to ride it for the first time on this very street. He would throw footballs with his Father when he was young, from one side of the street to the other, It had been so long since his family had been together and happy that had almost forgotten what it felt like.
He stepped over the cracked sidewalk concrete in front of his parent's yard, glancing through the darkened shattered doorway, the clouds had overcast the sky this afternoon leaving it cool and dark in the house. Some of the bulbs were shattered but most of the lights still worked if they weren't flickering ominously above him, "Come on out, Prometheus, I know you're in here," his voice echoed through the living room and out the massive hole in the ceiling that was clearly made by an Alburian-Pelerota.
"You seem to know everything, don't you?" the deepened growl of his voice modifier announced his presence as he stepped out into the open from the other side of the house, entering through the backyard.
Ben took a few steps forward slowly, "I know that you're dying, I know that you can't maintain your transformations for more than a few minutes at a time without burning out, and I'm pretty sure you busted your dimensional-doohickey when we brought down your castle…" he pointed out all true facts that Cooper could confirm, and the last fact was an assumption due to the villain refusing to save himself with alternate Omnitricies.
Prometheus growled again, his eyes flashing bright crimson with rage, his body flooded with artificial omni-energy that cackled around him like bolts of red electricity, "I'll show you!" he shouted as a bright flash of that bright red light revealed Quadsmash who immediately charged Ben with each stomp shaking the house around them.
At the last second Ben exploded with a flash of emerald energy, matching his transformation with a Tetramand of his own, Fourarms grabbed the purple-skinned mutation by the throat with all of Prometheus' sprinting momentum. Turning four or five times with his incredible strength gaining speed, Fourarms launched the five-hundred-pound alien through the ceiling of the house and into the sky. Prometheus could see another flash of emerald come from the ground from several hundred feet up as Chromastone was faster than he'd ever been, intercepting Prometheus with two fists cupped together spiking him in the back down face first into yet another abandoned house.
"Give this up! You'll never beat me the way you are now!" Chromastone shouted as he floated down gently, landing on his toes before planting his heels and walking through the wreckage, grabbing the bumper to an abandoned truck, and tearing it off without breaking his strut. He narrowed his singular bright green eye and waited as a crimson light shun through the debris of the house, a mutated Vaxasaurian roared and exploded from beneath a few dozen tons of steel, wood, and drywall; once again, his first instinct was to charge the Crystalsapien with all of his might.
Chromastone didn't hesitate to swing the bumper like a baseball bat, using all of his skills from watching and playing the sport as an adolescent, to knock the massive Terrorsaurus through the air eventually digging a trench in the asphalt with his back. He tried to stand back up but, Chromastone simply bombarded him with rainbow cascaded energy beams that flew out from his palms like blasts of light. "I'm done letting you hurt my friends and family, this war between us? It's over!" he didn't relent on his blasts of energy until the mutated Vaxasaurian slowly cackled with unstable crimson lightning, shocking him painfully and eventually transforming him back into his human form.
An emerald flash of light flooded his vision as Prometheus huffed deep breaths and watched as Ben approached him in his personal crater, now both of them in their human forms, he scurried to get to his hands and knees. "Do you feel it now? The power from just a single core has evolved you, achieving symbiosis with the artificial sentience in your Omnitrix," Prometheus was in awe but, still slowly getting to standing position. Facing Ben, he removed his mask and pulled down his hood to reveal his now burned yet identical face to Ben's. The right side of his face had been dealt severe third-degree burns, nearly melting his skin barely allowing his eyes room to see properly, "It's time I get what I came for, to fix this mess you've made," He said with a confident shift in his attitude, more obviously showing off his mental instability.
"You're not getting anything from me, not now and not ever," Ben made sure to be as crystal clear as he could be with his statement although, he wished he had been a tad less sure of himself as Prometheus managed to transform into a mutated Kinceleran as Rush vanished from sight. Turning in a circle, looking out at the road and the surrounding houses, Ben scanned for the villain but, found himself alone for nearly a full two or three minutes.
Finally, Rush returned nearly out of breath but, now he held Gwendolyn with his arm around her neck as he transformed back into his human form, Ben could see the pain he was in with every form he took. "Looks like you have a choice to make, hero of heroes," in the hand that was wrapped around her neck he held a regular steak knife from a household kitchen and in the other free hand by his side he held a black stick with a sensor embedded into it. "In one hand I hold a detonator that will set off charges that'll, at the very least, wipe out your hometown and everyone in it."
Ben pressed a finger to his ear as if listening to something else but, returned his attention to Prometheus and his hostage, Gwendolyn didn't look scared with a fierce expression of determination, she nodded discriminately toward approving of the plan her fiancé cooked up. "In the other… well, I think even you can realize what comes next," the mad man chuckled as he dug the knife into her neck just barely drawing a single drop of blood. "If I can't have your Omnitrix, than you can't have your precious family! I will take everything you have until you're just… like… me!"
Ben shook his head in refusal, disapproving of the entire plot, "No, I can never be like you; all you are is a terrifying reflection of what I could have been if I hadn't met all of the wonderful people in my life that made me who I am," he stepped forward with his hands out, trying his best to keep the conversation going, "Unlike you, I rely on my friends to help me through tough situations like this once, because without them well… I'd probably just as alone and insane as you are."
Prometheus shook his head, trying to ignore the speech that was being laid onto him, "Yeah right, and where are your friends now that you need them most!?" he pointed out since Ben had arrived alone and fought by himself up until now. "All of that bravado and talk and you're still just as alone as I am!"
Ben chuckled at the statement, pressing a finger into the communicator in his ear and smiling after he heard the voice on the other end, "Do you really think I would show up here without any backup? Or that we didn't see any of this coming?"
Prometheus was confused as Gwendolyn's Alpha Rune and Charms lit up brightly along with the pupils in her eyes with blue mystical energy, "Reptillicus!" he gasped as the knife he held to her throat shapeshifted into a large python snake that attempted to wrap itself around his arm.
"Gah!" Prometheus shouted as he pulled his katana from the sheath on his back and diced up the reptile before it could sink its fangs into him; Gwendolyn took the opportunity to step away from the killer avoiding the splatter of snake blood that hit the ground around him.
Gwen stood at Ben's side watching Prometheus struggle, holding out the detonation trigger in his hand, looking between the two and snarling with anger, "Fine! Then everyone dies!" he shouted at the top of his lungs quickly pressing down on the trigger sensor without any hesitation. He glanced at it with a bewildered expression, pressing down two or three more times but, disappointed by the lack of explosions in the distance or around him.
"Like I said before, I thought of everything… because I am you, all I had to do was start processing things based on what I would do if I were you, once I knew enough about you it wasn't hard. Thanks for the deep dive on your psychosis while I was kidnapped and stuff, it helped out a lot with figuring you out," Ben folded his arms proudly as he approached the now powerless villain, who only found himself shocked at the development.
"H-How is this possible?! You couldn't have gotten to all of my bombs in time!" Prometheus exclaimed as he fell to his knees, his entire body was overheating and the energy in his watch was finally burning out leaving a corrosive substance coating his Antitrix.
"I have the one thing you couldn't possibly have predicted, I have friends that are willing to die for what I stand for, best friends I couldn't possibly have done this without," Ben gave Prometheus a smile as he knelt down to speak to him at eye level, "Rook Blanco is an expert in all things explosive and hardware based; Cooper is the smartest human mind on Earth and the fasted mind in the Universe, while I kept you occupied, they disarmed and dismantled the charges."
Gwendolyn stepped forward next to him, placing a hand on her fiancé's shoulder flashing Prometheus her glittering diamond engagement ring, "I knew you would try to use me as leverage since you tried to turn everything else he loved into weapons, I figured I couldn't be far behind."
"You thought that you could break my spirit and turn me into a killer, but all you've done is show me who I really am," Ben grabbed his demented doppelganger by the collar of his bullet-proof armor, yanking him up off his knees and up to his feet, "Now, I've waited a long time to say this but, I don't think she would mind," he tightened his hand into a fist, letting the omni-energy that surged through the lining in his suit cackled into electricity, "This… is for Kai!" with a single swing, he right hooked Prometheus into unconsciousness before his head even hit the asphalt of the street.
Gwendolyn watched as he wiped his hands, feeling dirty just touching the psychotic serial killer, chiming in as she approached to stand next to him, "What about Kevin and Albedo?" spite both leaving the life of crime behind, he still didn't feel any love towards the two once they were gone.
"Them too," He added reluctantly as he caressed his irritated knuckles from the impact.
…
Omnitrix City; South Dakota; February 15th, 2018; 1:50PM
Lucy and Rook agreed to guard the Plumber transport on its way to the Rushmore Base where they were outfitting a custom energy dampening cell that would keep his Antitrix inactive and hopefully stabilize his condition. While Ben entrusted that responsibility to them, he was still in charge of releasing a statement to the public about the serial killings and the rampage in Bellwood.
Ben addressed the situation by calling a press conference in front of Tennyson Tower, inviting the local news outlets as well as any national coverage that was interested, he wasn't expecting an entire crowd of over a hundred people to arrive at his doorstep. Gwendolyn stood with him behind the sliding glass entrance to the building, waiting to face the crowds as several flash photos went off from outside just getting images of his silhouette would sell apparently. "I guess I've become more of a celebrity than I thought," he mentioned as Gwen straightened out his navy-blue suit which he bought for occasions just like these, paired with black slacks, and proper dress shoes, he'd never felt so out of place.
Gwendolyn looked up into his eyes from her place standing almost a head shorter than him, wearing a teal blue crop-top jacket over a black strapless dress that cut off just above her knees. "Of course, I would only ever marry the most popular guy in the country," she giggled a bit as she finished with his tie and backed away a step, "See? You look handsome," she confirmed her statement to him by gently putting a hand on his cheek, pressing her lips against his briefly, taking good care to not let her rosewood red lipstick smear on him as she smiled through the kiss.
"I feel like I'm wearing Grandpa's stupid old wedding tuxedo, only worse," Ben noted after pulling back and yanking lightly on the collar of his suit, "I always hated that thing."
Gwen could only giggle in response as she turned him around to face the entrance to the building where he would walk out to speak to the crowd in front of the podium he had set up, "Save the drama, smile, and say mega dweeb," she shoved him forwards a bit and into sight of the cameras, practically forcing him to cease his procrastination.
He turned to face her only to receive a giddy smile and a wink accompanying it, "Great," he mumbled, "I guess she remembered the wedding." Ben stepped forward as the doors slid open automatically for him, making his way down a line of reporters trying to get the story out of him before he addressed them. He ignored them and instead made his way directly to the podium where ten or twelve microphones were set up. He cleared his throat and decided to start with the simplest items on his agenda, "I, uh, would like to address the serial killings that have been plaguing Omnitrix City as well as other neighboring communities…" He was trying to sound as official as possible as he read off the script he had photographically memorized, "The perpetrator of these heinous acts has been apprehended at approximately three in the afternoon last week. I personally have been doing my best to capture him for several months now and couldn't be happier now that he's in custody." Ben glanced out at the crowd of people waiting for more before returning to his speech, trying to forget about the people staring at him alone on stage, "I would like to announce that I've donated a substantial sum to the relief foundation for Bellwood reconstruction after Prometheus used his abilities to wreak havoc on public and private property alike." Finally, he was able to move on to the part that was most important in his opinion, "Before I take questions, I would like to also announce that I had a plaque installed in the center of New Xenon Square here in Omnitrix City. This plaque is inscribed with the named of the few heroes who gave their lives in service of stopping the masked killer known as Prometheus. Kai Greene, Kevin Ethan Levin, and Albedo of the Galvan, each making the ultimate sacrifice in their own way to stop the senseless violence… It goes without saying that we thank them for everything they did." Ben chose to omit the murder of Gwendolyn's variant from another Universe for simplicity's sake, honoring those from his own reality and planning to send her body back to her home world for a proper burial. After a pause and a drawn-out sigh, he reluctantly looked out at the gazing crowd again, "I'll be taking questions now."
As soon as they heard this, the entire crowd went into a frenzy of shouting and trying their best to get their cameras in front of the person behind them. He was tempted to spin in a circle with his hands covering his eyes and pick the first person he pointed to but, that would have been a tad too inappropriate, "Okay, you," he pointed out one of the reporters in the second row who was one of the only ones left after the others sat down.
"What measures are being taken exactly to ensure this dangerous super-villain doesn't escape?" Speaking into her microphone until she was done, she aimed it up at Ben to get as good of a sound bite as she could get.
Ben rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "For obvious reasons the specifics of his holding cell and overall containment are classified to Plumber's only. I can tell you that his powers have been effectively neutralized and that he's being watched twenty-four seven by trained officers," using all of the official jargon he'd been taught by Gwendolyn and Wes over the years, he knew the answers and only tried to make them sound better for the public. "You, in the brown shirt…" he pointed again as the other woman took her seat.
"Thank you, there have been testimonies that claim to have seen you flying without the use of an alien form in the days prior to this conference, would you care to comment on that?" he asked in the same manor as the last reporter who aimed their microphones in his direction.
Ben was beginning to sweat, and practically feeling the tension building in his neck and back, his empathic fiancé came to the rescue as she approached from behind causing dozens of camera clicks and flashes to go off. "I didn't think you were coming out on stage…" he whispered to her but, she only smiled at the crowd answering in a whisper back to him.
"And I figured after the invasion you would have picked up on public speaking…" Gwendolyn grabbed one of the main mics and spoke directly into it, "With all of the powers the Omnitrix has, and the near decade he's spent with it, is it really all that surprising that Ben Ten Thousand would gain some abilities that seem a bit unorthodox?" learning to answer questions with another question to throw off the interviewers, she took control of the conference for him. "In back with your hand up, blue sweater, yea you," she pointed out from all the way in the back.
"Patterns in the killings indicate that this was somehow tailored specifically toward Ben Tennyson himself, are there any personal connections between him and Prometheus?"
Gwendolyn surprised at how well thought out the question was but, denied vehemently before any suspicion could be drawn leading to even more confusing questions. She figured she could draw attention away from the question by presenting an even more juicy story than that, "My fiancé is the most powerful man on the planet, it's no surprise to me that someone would be out to tear him down," dropping that metaphorical bomb doused any ideas of asking about the connection between Ben and his homicidal counterpart. As the frenzy of reporters geared up to kill each other for the chance to get the next question, Gwendolyn announced into the microphone seconds later, "That'll be all for questions, thank you all and have a great day!" waving to a few of the reporters who still had their cameras on the stage-bound couple. Gwendolyn locked her arm with Ben's and turned around making their way back into Tennyson Tower.
"You sure took control up there," Ben noted as they whispered with smiles on their faces. "Wasn't expecting that."
Gwen didn't relax her smile for even a moment, "We're getting married soon so, you should probably get used to that."
"Fair point."
Once the entrance doors closed behind them, they both took a breath only Ben's was far more over dramatically strained than his girlfriend's. Gwendolyn noticed the stress on his brow and decided to wait to tell him the news she'd been keeping to herself since this morning, "Why don't we head over to the apartment so we can get ready for the guests?" taking the opportunity to step behind her man's tense back, gently rubbing his shoulders with her firm yet dainty grip, "And then maybe tonight I can show you why I call you a hero…" her whisper into his ear sent goosebumps up and down the nape of his neck where he felt her breath.
"O-Okay, yea, yea, I like that idea," Before Gwen could even register his answer she was blinded by a bright flash of emerald light, she had never giggled so loudly as she was scooped into his Kinceleran arms, "Onward!" he announced before receiving yet another lighthearted giggle from the woman of his dreams, tucking her head into his shoulder as he took off at a dozen times the speed of sound.
…
Omnitrix City; South Dakota February 15th, 2018; 4:24PM
After handling the press conference, XLR8 made beeline for the apartment Ben had rented out in both his and Gwendolyn's name; having been teased with his reward for later that night, he figured it would be best if he wasted no time in getting everything prepared for the small get-together they were hosting as a sort of celebratory engagement party. After putting Gwendolyn down gently on the couch facing the large flat-screen television, she once again found herself giggling as she watched him set up for her. Zipping around the full-sized kitchen the speedster pulled out the appetizers, set them up, and put them out for guests. Taking out the champagne and the accompanying glassware, he set the bottles in a large tin filled with ice. XLR8 reorganized the furniture so that there were places to sit for all of the accounted for guests, pulling out the Bluetooth speaker which was already connected to their sound system and hooked up to the entire apartment. In a matter of seconds, the once baren condominium was now decorated and organized for a party.
"You sure know how to sweep a girl off her feet," Gwendolyn joked as XLR8 finally skated to a stop in front of her, exploding with a flash of green light as he transformed back into his human form.
Ben looked down at his suit and chuckled, "Almost forgot," using the minor amount of Kinceleran speed he had in his normal form, he dashed off to the bedroom before returning in a baggy pair of dark-green cargo pants, black combat boots, and his favorite black t-shirt with its signature white stripe cutting through the torso. "That's more I like it!"
"Of course, the great 'hero of heroes' cant handle a tight tuxedo for more than an hour at a time, maybe I should give your next big bad that information," she joked as his comeback was interrupted by the doorbell.
'Ding Dong.'
Cooper was the first to arrive having brought the food for the party with him, he held half a dozen Pizza's of different assorted toppings in his hands as he whistled at the sight of the fancy apartment décor, "Holy scrap, you guys must really enjoy being filthy rich, look at how high the ceiling is," putting down the boxes on the kitchen counter, he barely stopped to look at them as he glanced over the complex.
"Well, we decided to put the majority of our inheritance towards savings, the Bellwood reconstruction donation was the first time in a while that I've dipped into it," Ben was about to close the door behind Cooper when a brown leather boot wedged its way between the frame and the door.
"I hope I'm not late," Wes announced as Ben and Gwendolyn happily opened the door for him, the former giving him a firm handshake and the latter wrapping him in a sympathetic embrace.
"Not at all, Mr. Greene, we'd be happy to have you any time," Gwendolyn mentioned as she pulled out of the hug, Ben immediately walked passed Cooper and into the kitchen where he pulled from the tin of ice a set of four cold beers, two in each hand.
"And I'm happy to be here," Wes said to Gwendolyn as he entered the apartment, "In all honesty, I was rooting for you two ever since Max told me about your relationship, I couldn't be happier for you both."
Having become closer to Ben and Gwen before Kai's untimely death, Wes felt almost like a second grandfather to them both, "That's so sweet, honestly I'm sure Grandpa would be happy to know that you're here supporting us in his place."
Wes chuckled as he reached out and grabbed Gwendolyn's hand gently, looking into her eyes with a serious expression, "I can't thank you enough for that, and I would like to ask something of you."
"Of course, what is it?"
Wes looked away with a bit of sorrow in his eyes, "I was so looking forward to walking Kai down the aisle but, now that she's left us, It would be an honor to give you away at your wedding in Max's place," Wes clearly didn't know how to ask and wasn't sure what to expect and so while Gwen was about to tear up, he continued, "I know you have a strained relationship with your parents, and I couldn't let Max down by allowing you to walk down the aisle alone…"
Gwen shed a small tear, realizing that her emotions were getting the best of her over little to nothing, "Wes, that's so sweet of you, of course you can walk me down the aisle!" the tear slipped down her cheek as she questioned her own emotional state. Especially after what she found out this morning.
Ben handed one to Cooper first and foremost before walking passed him to Gwen and Wes, the Plumber was happy to take one as the hero used his super strength to pop the bottle caps open for them. Gwendolyn sheepishly denied her beer as Ben attempted to share the ones he'd picked out with her, "I'm not in the mood for beer, actually," she lied, however; wasn't expecting her fiancé to be so supportive.
"That's fine, I could poor you some of that fruity champagne you like instead," Ben was about to do his duties as her boyfriend and fiancé, attempting to walk away when suddenly he was tugged back by her hand grabbing his wrist.
"No!" she almost shouted but, luckily Cooper was talking with Wes about some new Plumber issue weapon that was coming out on the market and neither noticed, "I mean, I'm not really in the mood for champagne either…"
Ben simply blinked back at her, glancing back at the guests, still not catching any clues as to why she was being so difficult about this, "Well, no problem babe, I could go and pick up whatever you want in a split second just say the word, it's a celebration!" he announced catching the others attention as they both raised their glasses with a smile.
"No, Ben, you don't under-" before she finished another doorbell ring interrupted her frustratingly, giving out a sigh as he left their conversation to answer the door himself.
'Ding Dong. Ding Dong. Ding Dong.' Lucy was clearly the one ringing the doorbell, it was hardly even a tough guess.
Rook and Lucy stood at the door together, holding a gift box with a radiant crimson ribbon tying it shut, "I heard it was customary to purchase a gift for the betrothed couple to open at their engagement ceremony," he handed it over with a smile as Gwendolyn eventually approached the door entrance, inviting them in and taking the gift from Rook politely.
"I appreciate the gift, dude, come on in, want a drink?" Ben said nonchalantly throwing his arm over the Plumber's shoulder, guiding him toward the kitchen.
Rook tapped his finger against his chin for a moment, "I do enjoy the fizz of carbonated beverages…" he pointed out leaving Ben confused but, not at all surprised.
"Hey, whatever floats your boat, dude," Ben complied and approached the fridge against the wall in the kitchen, grabbing a soda from the door, and placing it on the counter in front of him.
Rook looked down with a smile, popping the aluminum tab, "Thank you, but, I do not have any buoyant vehicles to offer you, I'm afraid…" he sounded almost too serious prompting Ben to try and clear things up.
He shook his head, "No, it's just a figure of speech, Rook…"
Lucy slammed her palms flat on the kitchen counter, looking Ben dead in the eyes, and glaring with a stare that could paralyze a man with fear, "Where are the bottles of liquor and the shot glasses?!" the blonde shapeshifter asked with urgency in her voice.
"Don't you want to wait a bit, it's only like four-thirty…" Ben asked out loud.
Lucy grabbed him by the collar of his shirt playfully, pulling him in to press her forehead against his, "Remember that it's always five o clock somewhere, now, liquor, point!" she insisted as Ben finally gave in and pointed toward the freezer connected to the bottom of the fridge. "Shots, shots, shots-shots-shots-shots! Everybody!" she started singing the popular song as she made her way into their freezer, bending over to dig through the bottles littered with frost. Ben noticed Rook indiscreetly eyeing her black sleeved dress as it rode up the back of her legs when she bent over, slightly exposing her ass in the process.
Ben noticed it as well, chuckling at him as he approached Lucy, whispering something into her ear that Rook couldn't hear, this prompted her to immediately stand up straight throwing her hands behind her back and pulling her dress down to cover her cheeks. Rook watched as Ben tapped the neck of his beer against his can of soda, winking at the Revonnahgander as he passed him towards the other guests, "Seize the day, Rook, seize the day…"
He wasn't sure what Ben had said to his once removed cousin but, whatever it was, it prompted the Lenopan to take on a mischievous smile turning her head just so Rook could see her expression. She seemed to have adjusted to the situation since she opted to let go of her dress, allowing it to ride back up as she bent over to grab the bottle of rum she was eyeing. "You and me," Lucy stated with a confident smirk and low hanging eyes, "Let's go…" she grabbed Rook's hand with her free one as she tugged both him and the bottle off to the corner of the room where she would pressure him to try alcohol for the first time.
Wes was busy talking with Cooper who was more interested in telling the elder Plumber about all of the new advancements in weapons and space crafts since his old Plumbing days; Lucy was now two shots in and barely feeling buzzed, clearly having had a drinking habit at one point and Rook was still smelling his shot of rum with apprehensive sniffs.
'Ding Dong.'
As they all suddenly felt quiet, they glanced at the door, Ben and Gwendolyn shrugged as they counted up the guests and their friends, realizing that everyone who had been invited was already inside and enjoying the party. This gave pause as the Tennysons had never been known for having uninvited guests that didn't want to kill them or steal from them. Immediately, Gwendolyn gave him a knowing glance though, he simply put his beer down and gave her a nod, assuring her that he would handle it.
Ben approached the door and opened it so they could see who was crashing their engagement party which they didn't tell anyone else about. The door swung open to reveal a teenage boy with light brown hair and bright emerald eyes, he wore light-green pants with a long-sleeved white shirt underneath a navy-blue hoodie, "Hi there, we need to talk," the boy stated as he walked in without hesitation, almost as if he'd been there before.
Gwendolyn stood up from her seat upon seeing the boy, somehow feeling like she recognized him, "Who are you?" she asked as Ben was still confused.
The boy glanced around at the apartment in awe, glancing at the high ceilings and the décor, "Wow, this house is… bitchin," he stated as he looked at everything with overall enthusiasm. "It's all so retro."
Cooper took a long sip from his beer, as Lucy took a break from trying to get the Revonnahgander drunk as they both shifted their focus to the unknown boy standing in the entrance to the apartment, "R-Retro?" the technopath stuttered once or twice in disbelief.
Ben folded his arms as the boy turned in a circle before focusing back on the hero, "And so we need to talk because?" he trailed off waiting for the mystery visitor to speak up for himself.
"Right… I think I made a big mistake," he stated as his expression became serious very quickly, glancing back at Gwendolyn from across the room who was still staring at him, "You see you always told me if I get lost in the Multiverse or through the time stream, I should just drop what I'm doing and try to find you… so that's what I'm doing," he was speaking so quickly it was almost hard to tell what he was saying but, they got the gist of it.
Ben looked back up at his fiancé and gave her a shrug, confirming to her that he had no clue what the boy was talking about, "Try that one more time, only this time start with who you are and how we know you."
The boy took a deep breath, slowing himself down for them, "My name is Kenneth Maxwell Tennyson, I'm your son… from the future…" he tapped his index fingers together nervously, something Gwen did in her youth whenever she was anxious or in trouble.
Ben's jaw went slightly slack as Ken turned back around to face Gwendolyn who was still putting the pieces together, Cooper gave a long, exasperated sigh, "Anyone else need a refill? Just me? Okay then," as he got up to grab something stiffer from the kitchen, Ken chuckled a bit.
"Cooper Daniels, always cutting the tension with a joke," Kenneth looked at him as though he was already acquainted with the technopath but, the latter didn't even know what he was talking about, "When in doubt, comedic relief, am I right?" he snaped and gave a hand-sign shaped like a gun at him, pulling the fake trigger with a wink.
Cooper blinked several times, putting down hard seltzer he was about to open, grabbing one of the bottles Lucy had drudged up from the freezer instead, "Stiffer than that, you say? Don't mind if I do…" he said with a fake chuckle, trying his best to tune out the time travel talk as it was his day off and it prompted too many questions for his sober mind to just ignore.
Ben took a few apprehensive steps towards the boy with a raised brow, reminding Gwendolyn to cross the room and stand by his side, "How can that even be possible, Gwen and I haven't even considered…" he trailed off when his gaze landed on the sheepish mage who was now tapping her index fingers together as if to almost paint the picture that he was their son.
"Actually, that's what I was trying to tell you earlier," Gwendolyn placed her hand on his shoulder, looking into his eyes with the brightest smile, "I took a test earlier this morning and, well… we're pregnant!"
Ben was blindsided from all directions; he was already stressing about being the groom at his own wedding and now he was dealing with a son from the future and a baby in the oven at the same time?
Lucy was slightly drunk already, taking another shot while they were talking but, still getting a basic understanding of the conversation, "So, what year are you from? Do we have flying cars yet?" the Lenopan practically fell over one of the chairs trying to approach to ask that question.
Ken chuckled, looking at them all as though they'd been friends forever, spite them not even recognizing him, "No matter what timeline I end up in, Aunt Lucy is always the most fun. We get flying cars but, not for another half decade for you guys," this revelation prodded Lucy to throw her hand up in excitement.
She ran back to her seat next to Rook, shaking him by the shoulders with an optimistic shout, "Did you hear that, I'm Aunt Lucy! I'm an Aunt! Or I will be!"
Rook chuckled at how close she was to him as she shook him rapidly, the cheeks under his fur turning red with a crimson blush, "I think I will try that shot now."
"Hold on just a minute, how do we know you're telling the truth? So, you guessed my wife is pregnant, a lot of people could guess something like that," Ben was testing his knowledge at the time as pointing out something that was in fact true, they could be talking to another shapeshifter or another evil doppelganger.
Kenneth was amused by his attempt to trip him up, "You and Mom aren't married yet, besides, I think I have something that'll prove I'm telling the truth way more than some quiz," he raised his left forearm, showing off the bulge beneath his sleeve before slowly pulling it down to reveal what it was.
Ben's eyes went wide at a sight he didn't think he would ever see again; it was his Omnitrix, the watch he found in the woods, the one he wore over the best summer vacation ever, it was identical to how his own Omnitrix looked before it began to fuse to his DNA. The black wristband with emerald trim was glowing brightly in the room even though the lights were on around it, it wasn't until Ken showed it off that both advanced watches in the room began to hum with an identical glow coming off Ben's more matured gauntlet. "Crap…"
Cooper furrowed his brow in bewilderment, now more than slightly drunk, he had absolutely nothing constructive to add, "Mazel tov?"
…
WOAH that was crazy! Lol, review and enjoy!