"I'm telling you, it actually happened." Kevin said, his voice cracking. They were at Mr. Smoothie's, eating dinner.
Ben smiled to himself and shook his head. That was so not true. There was no way that actually happened. It was too colorful, too outrageous, too illogical to have ever really happened. Gwen didn't seem to believe him either; she rolled her eyes at his response.
"Kevin, there's no way that actually happened." Gwen said skeptically, gesturing toward him while she spoke.
"I'm serious. I know it sounds fake, but I swear I'm not making this up." Kevin said, trying to sound earnest. Gwen folded her arms over her chest, her face breaking into a smirk.
"Come on Kevin, be serious here. This did not happen." Gwen said defiantly.
Kevin twisted his mouth into a frown. Now he was getting annoyed.
"You guys seriously don't believe me?" Kevin asked, flabbergasted.
Ben shook his head again, taking a sip of his smoothie.
"No Kevin, we don't. Quite frankly it sounds a little ridiculous." He said.
"You really think I'd just make that up?" Kevin asked, incredulous.
Gwen raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow as if to say "Really?"
Kevin scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Whatever." He grumbled, "I tried telling you guys a funny story and you don't believe me."
Gwen's face fell at that admission. She could tell that Kevin was obviously hurt.
"Oh come on Kevin, lighten up. You know we don't mean it. It was a funny story." Gwen said honestly.
"A funny story you don't believe." Kevin snapped. Gwen hesitated, unsure of what she should say next.
"Kevin, let it go. Come on, for me." Gwen said, meeting his eyes and giving him The Look. It was the look Gwen gave someone when she was trying to get someone to believe her. Whenever she gave anyone The Look, Gwen always met their eyes and stared at the person for a little too long.
She always managed to make someone break when she gave someone The Look. Kevin knew all about it; he'd been the recipient of it many times before. Gwen always managed to break him with it.
Kevin looked over at her and smiled. Gwen smiled back at him, letting her eyes sparkle for a few seconds before turning back to her original look.
"Fine." Kevin said, giving up. Ben rolled his eyes.
"You guys are toxic." Ben commented, staring out the window. Just as he was staring to enjoy the view, someone came running towards the restaurant.
Ben peered at them. It was a man, pale and sickly-looking, with tattered clothes and an overly long beard, running towards the window. His eyes were wide with fear.
"What the-?" Ben asked, but before he could finish his sentence, the man slammed his hands against the window, startling all three of them. Ben jumped at the sound of the man's hands smacking against the glass. The man stared back at them, terrified.
"Help!" The man cried, staring at the three wide-eyed. "She's going to kill me!"
The trio bolted out of their seats and raced outside.
Kevin threw open the door and Ben ran to the man outside.
"What's going on sir?" Ben asked, concerned. The man was shaking furiously and struggled to speak.
"She-she's going to kill me!" The man stammered. Gwen narrowed her eyes at the man and walked up to him.
"Wait, she? Whose she?" Gwen asked. All of a sudden a bolt of pink energy flew threw the air and hit Gwen square in the chest, sending her backwards into the window. Gwen slammed into the window, shattering it upon contact.
"Gwen!" Ben and Kevin yelled in unison, Kevin sprinting towards his fallen girlfriend. He grabbed Gwen by her arm and pulled her arm.
"I'm fine." Gwen insisted, brushing the glass off of her arm. She pulled the rubber band out of her hair, picking the glass out that had fallen in it during the incident. Gwen's eyes narrowed in anger and she wrapped her hair back up in a ponytail, her face contorting in frustration. Kevin and Ben turned and gasped when they saw who Gwen was glaring at. It was Charmcaster.
"You." Gwen growled, a pink sphere casting itself over her hand "I thought you were done with this crap."
Charmcaster shrugged, a look of apathy on her face.
"I got bored." She drawled. Gwen bolted into a fighting stance and Kevin touched the sidewalk, absorbing its minerals. Ben turned the dial on the Omnitrix, preparing to attack. Charmcaster eyed the three mockingly, her gaze focusing on Gwen.
"It doesn't have to be like this Charmcaster. You can walk away." Gwen said boldly, a hint of hurt in her voice. She still wasn't over Charmcaster killing her, but she felt bad about Deathstar. No one deserved to be treated like that, even if said person had done horrible things in the past.
Charmcaster sneered at Gwen, her eyes lighting up with amusement
"God, you really don't know what to say anymore, do you Gwen? It's the same schtick over and over again 'You don't have to do this Charmcaster. You're better than this.' Have you ever considered the idea that maybe I want to do this?"
Gwen bared her teeth at her, her eyes glowing.
"What do you even want with this man anyway Charmcaster? What has he done to you?"
Charmcaster scowled and glared at the man, who met her steely gaze.
"He stole something that belongs to me, and quite frankly, I don't feel like sharing." The man glared back at Charmcaster, his eyes glowing blue.
"You're never going to have this Charmcaster. Not in a thousand years."
Charmcaster snickered, throwing her head back.
"You really think I'm afraid of you? Ok then, try me. You won't like what I'm about to do." Charmcaster said coldly, her tone immediately changing.
She lifted her hand and a pink rope-like substance emitted from it. The man lifted his hand and a shield came over him. The rope smacked against the shield, but failed to penetrate it. Charmcaster's scowl hardened.
"What the fuck?" She spat, closing her hand. A pink sphere came over her hand and she threw it at the shield. It hit the shield and the shield exploded, causing the man to stumble to the ground.
Charmcaster shot a beam of energy at him but Gwen put up a shield. The beam hit Gwen's shield but didn't break it.
"You're always ruining my fun, you know that?" Charmcaster spat. Her eyes glowed again, and the ground around Gwen exploded, sending Gwen back into the restaurant.
Kevin pounced on Charmcaster, knocking her to the ground. They smashed into the concrete, Kevin pinning her down.
"Get off of me."Charmcaster growled, her eyes glowing pink. Kevin grunted as a giant hand came out of nowhere, causing Kevin to fly through the air and slam into his truck. Ben's eyes narrowed. It was those rock monsters again!
Ben turned the dial on the Omnitirix and yelled "Its hero time!" as he slammed down on it. However, as soon as Ben pressed it, nothing happened. He didn't transform or feel his body tingle as he did so or anything. He just…remained how he was.
"What?" Ben gasped, looking down at the Omnitrix. It blinked a few times and then the voice came on: "Omnitrix needs to reload. Reload information."
"Come on!" Ben begged, slamming down on the Omnitrix, but it failed to budge. "Come on work!" Ben said, feeling panic take over his body. The rock monsters advanced on him, turning their threatening glares in his direction.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Ben spat, slamming his hand repeatedly over the Omnitrix "Why the hell are you choosing now to fuck with me?!" The Omnitrix didn't respond; it remained completely still, not saying a word or even flickering.
Ben looked up at the rock creatures, who began running towards him. Ben turned around and ran, feeling his heart rate pick up. Of all the days this had to happen…
Ben ran to one of the parked cars and hid behind them, hoping he'd be safe. However, he was wrong. One of the rock creatures lifted the Subaru he was hiding behind and tossed it like a rag doll.
The car slammed into the asphalt, making an awful crunching sound as it did so. Ben looked up at the creature, his breathing become hitched. Fuck.
Ben tried to run but one of the creatures grabbed Ben and hoisted him up in the air. Ben cried out as the creature did so.
The creature glared at him, looking murderous. Ben tried to push himself out of the creature's grip but the creature was holding onto him too tightly, making it impossible to move.
The creature began walking back to Charmcaster, its loud footsteps causing the ground to shake. Ben grunted as he tried to pry the creature's hand open but to no avail.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kevin flying through the air, smashing into the Mr. Smoothie sign. Kevin groaned and he fell, tumbling towards the ground at lightning speed.
He'll be killed Ben thought. He tried to push himself out but again, failed to do so. He looked over and saw that Gwen wasn't doing so well either.
Charmcaster was fighting both Gwen and the mystery man, and she was winning. Her eyes glowed as she concentrated her mana, Gwen's shield beginning to break. Gwen cried out as her shield snapped and she was sent flying towards the restaurant again, crashing into one of the tables.
Charmcaster closed her fist and the man's mana shield broke as well, her mana ray knocking him to the ground.
Ben looked over and saw that Kevin was nearing the ground. What he did next shocked the living daylight out of himself. He didn't know why he did it; he didn't think he could help him.
"Kevin no!" Ben screamed in agony.
He just…held his hand out, acting like he could still reach him. He didn't think he had it in him; there were no traces of it before, no hints. As far as he was aware of, Gwen was the only one who was able to do it, not him.
As soon as he held his hand out though, it happened. His hand glowed pink and a shield appeared. Kevin grunted as he smacked into the shield, knocking himself unconscious. Ben gasped and looked at his hand. What the hell?
Slowly, Ben closed his fist and the shield disappeared, causing Kevin to hit the ground, albeit still alive. Ben's hand glowed again, and he grunted as he swung his hand, a pink beam shooting out and slashing the rock creature's hand, causing him to hurdle towards the ground.
Ben yelped as he felt slip through the creature's fingers and held out his hand again, this time feeling more confident than before.
A pink shield appeared and Ben smacked into it, feeling his head spin. He looked over and saw Charmcaster, who was walking towards the man. Ben held his hand out and a pink sphere shot out, flying towards Charmcaster and hitting her in the back, knocking her over.
Charmcaster groaned and jerked her head around, scanning for her attacker.
"Where are you Gwen?" Charmcaster roared, clearly furious. Ben grunted and pushed himself off of his mana shield, his shield evaporating as soon as he stood up.
"I'm over here Charmcaster," Ben said. Charmcaster's eyes widened as she turned around to face Ben. She gaped at him.
"How did you-wha-how did you do that?!" She growled, standing up to her full height. She may have been taller than Ben but he'd be damned if he cowered in fear of her. He'd beaten her before; he could beat her again.
Ben balled his hand into a fist and stepped forward. Charmcaster gave him her usual sneer, her eyes gleaming with mockery.
"Looks like the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree." She leered. She reached inside her bag and took out her staff, but Ben threw an energy blast at her, knocking the staff out of her hand.
Charmcaster shot him a deadly look and raised her hand.
"Obturo," She said, and a wave of water appeared out of thin air. She hurled it at Ben using her mana but Ben defended himself, putting up a shield to protect himself from the blast. The water splashed against the shield, briefly obscuring his line of vision.
Ben unclenched his fist and the shield vanished, leaving him to face Charmcaster one-on-one.
Charmcaster clenched her jaw and attempted to shoot another beam of energy at him, but a blue hand wrapped itself around her, preventing her from doing so.
Charmcaster's eyes shot over to the stranger, who was glaring at her.
"Let go!" She snarled. She tugged but the man refused to let go. Charmcaster shot an energy beam at him but the man teleported before the beam could touch him. The beam flew through the air and straight at Gwen, who put up her own shield. The bolt hit Gwen's shield and shattered it upon making contact.
Gwen gasped as she was thrown back, smacking her back against the counter.
Just then, Ben heard an animal-like growl, and he peered over to see the second rock monster running towards him. Ben, however, was prepared. Ben grunted as he fired an energy beam at the monster, knocking it down on its back.
Charmcaster fired another blast at Gwen, but this time Ben put up a shield. The blast barely tapped the shield, not even causing a dent. Gwen's mouth hung open in shock.
"Ben!" Gwen gasped. "How-why-you can control mana?!"
"Apparently!" Charmcaster cried, raising her hand, preparing for another strike, but she was tackled to the ground by Kevin, who pinned her arms behind her back.
Ben let down his shield and Gwen ran to him, eyes wide with surprise.
"Ben!" Gwen said cheerily "You-you can control mana too!"
"Yeah." Ben said. "I can." It felt strange to say that out loud. Admitting it out loud made him feel powerful, made him feel confident. It made him feel complete.
Charmcaster grunted as she kicked Kevin off of her. Kevin yelped as he hit the ground. Charmcaster's rock monsters sauntered up to her. She glared at the trio.
"See you again losers. Or not." She drawled, and snapped her fingers, disappearing from their view.
Ben, Gwen, and Kevin stood there in shock, unsure of what to say.
"What just happened?" Gwen asked, confused.
"I think the guy Charmcaster was after got away." Kevin stated. Gwen gave him a look that read "No shit, really?"
Ben stared down at his hands. He could feel the mana pulsing through his body, giving him energy. He couldn't believe it; he actually had the spark! It was crazy to think about. Kevin looked at Ben, a confused look on his face.
"Are you going to tell me how you were able to do that?" Kevin asked, pointing to Ben's hands.
Ben gave Kevin a sheepish grin and shrugged his shoulders.
"I…guess I have the spark."