This is the second story in my series about Ken Tennyson. The first is The Forgotten One. I also post this series on Archive of Our Own

Chapter 1

Ken had very mixed feelings on this.

He was currently driving back to Bellwood. It was spring break and his parents had insisted he come back. He hadn't been planning to before, but it would have looked suspicious if he'd refused, especially when they'd said Gwen would be there.

He tapped his fingers methodically against the steering wheel. His parents were up to something. They knew something. He didn't know what, but one of his ex-friends must have talked to them. The shits.

He didn't care that much about what his parents were scheming against him though. They wouldn't succeed. No, the thing that made this trip almost torturous was his mirror. Or lack thereof.

The churning in his stomach grew more violent and his arms, which had only been slightly shaking a second ago, shook harder. The uncomfortable heat in his body increased and his grip crushed into the leather of the steering wheel.

Six days without his mirror. Panic clawed at his throat. He'd never make it. He'd never gone longer than 24 hours. But he couldn't risk bringing it with him. Not here. Ken took a gulping breath, swerving back from where he'd been starting to veer off the road.

The sick feeling didn't go away though. Not only could he not use his mirror, he wasn't there to protect it either. He'd hidden it away and created guards, but the anxiety was almost unbearably. Someone could be trying to steal it from him right now and he was so far away. He should be able to sense if it was disturbed, but it could already be too late by then.

'Calm down. It is well protected. Focus on what is in front of you. You're finally going to see your little sister again.'

That-that was true. Ken relaxed slightly. He was looking forward to seeing Gwen again. That is, if she stuck around.

Angry frustration made his hackles raise. If some stupid alien attacked or caused trouble, she would rush out to deal with it and be gone for 95% to 100% of the time. As usual.

But this time would be different. He could make it be different. Determination flooded his veins like fire. He had magic now. Power. He just couldn't let Gwen find out.

He slouched back in his seat, eyes flicking to the 'Welcome to Bellwood' sign as he passed. Excitement sparked within him and the sickness subsided. There was so much he wanted to talk to Gwen about.

Ken had been worried when his mom (Gwen hadn't been the first to tell him) told him Gwen was going to college early. Sixteen years old. He'd been proud of course, but two years was a lot. It wasn't that he didn't think she was smart enough, of course she was smart enough, but college wasn't purely academics. Ken had had opportunities to skip grades too, but he'd decided against it. He hadn't wanted to leave his friends behind or leave his home and family early or be the youngest kid in class. Gwen had been eager for the jump though.

In all honesty, he was kinda disappointed she was going to college for a magic degree. He'd been shocked there even was a magic degree, but he'd accepted long ago that the world (the universe really) was weirder and more messed up than he'd thought it was. Things used to be so simple.

Make no mistake, he'd never tell Gwen he didn't like her degree, but he'd been hoping going to college would make her more… normal. That she'd choose a normal career, something he could understand and talk to her about. Sure, he had magic now, but again, he was never going to tell her that. He'd been hoping she'd be a doctor or a lawyer or something. Maybe even attend the same college as him. A pipe dream, obviously.

His dream hadn't stopped there either. He'd hoped Gwen's college attendance would ground her in the normal student life. Give her more free time and take her mind off aliens. But no, of course that hadn't happened. She was doing school and part time vigilanting as Lucky Girl. He bet Ben had talked her into that somehow. But Ken was going to make this visit count. He'd make sure she had to spend time with him.

Ben would be there too.

Ken sighed, the thought souring his mood. His feeling towards Ben were so confusing. He was so mad at him right now. Yet at the same time, he was excited to see him again. The conflicting feelings didn't make sense. But he supposed being mad at someone didn't mean you didn't love them. And Ben was still family. Ken didn't have to sink to his level.

But if he sent a zombie bat or two flying into his face, well, karma was karma.

'A zombie bat? Really? He sees stuff weirder than that every day. That isn't going to leave any impact. You need to think bigger.'

Ken frowned. It was a good point. And the bat would never have been enough anyway. Well, he had six days, he was sure to think of something.

He saw Grandpa Max waiting for him as he pulled into the parking space. He was staying in the dorms at the Plumber Base while he was here since that was where Ben and Gwen were staying. Ugh, he was going to be surrounded by aliens. To think he'd actually thought meeting aliens would be cool as a kid.

Turning off the engine, he reached over and grabbed one of his bags off the passenger seat then exited the vehicle. He'd dressed very casually for the drive, just a blue t-shirt and jeans. Grandpa Max was walking up to the car.

He looked the same as ever, even wearing a Hawaiian shirt like he usually did. Ken smiled, waving as the older man approached.

'He lied to you.'

His smile faltered for a second, but he put it back in place almost immediately.

"Kenny," Max greeted warmly, embracing his eldest grandchild. Ken returned the hug on instinct.

"Hey, Grandpa," Ken greeted, pulling back from the hug. A hug that had felt hollow. "Long time no see." Really. "How have you been?"
"Oh, I've been keeping myself busy," Max replied pleasantly. "Always something that needs doing. And some of these younger recruits are quite a handful. Ben included."

Ken chuckled and he knew it sounded real, but it felt fake. "He's always been a bit of a handful. Probably always will be."

"You were always so good with him," his grandfather recalled fondly. "Carl and Sandra practically wanted to put you up for sainthood."

Ken grinned. His aunt and uncle had always been great to him. He wondered, what they thought about Ben's- activities. "I think that's a bit of an exaggeration."

"I don't know, seems pretty close to the truth to me. Now-" he clapped a hand onto Ken's shoulder and Ken held in the flinch. "Where's the rest of your luggage?"

Rolling his eyes good naturedly, Ken shrugged the hand off. "I've only got one more suitcase and I can carry it myself. No need to strain your old bones."

"I may be old, but I'm as spry as ever."

"No kidding," Ken said, walking around to the trunk and popping it open. "I swear you've barely aged a day for, like, a decade now. And the sixties aren't that old."

Max laughed and Ken could feel his eyes on him. "How have you been, Ken?" The question was friendly, but it sent Ken's anxiety spiking.

Why was he asking that? Did he suspect something? Was he looking at him weird or was it his imagination?

'Answer the question.'

Right, right. All those thoughts had raced through his mind in half a second, so there was no noticeable pause. He was fine.

"Still top of the class," he replied casually. "Nothing exceptionally exciting has happened." You all think I'm so boring. "Busy though. They really work you for engineering." He paused, placing the suitcase on the ground and popping up the handle. He gave a sideways glance towards the older man. "Or was that your sneaky attempt at asking if I've officially asked Jenny out yet?" He didn't want to talk about her, but it should be a suitable distraction.

Grandpa Max grinned slyly. "Well that was certainly one thing I was interested about."

"We're not official or anything," Ken half-lied. "We've been hanging out a lot more, but we haven't been using the words."

It was a lie. He had asked Jenny out officially. And she'd said yes. And it had been great. They'd gone rock climbing for their first date. Honestly, she'd been the main thing that had kept him from completely falling into his depression.

He'd had a crush on her since their junior year of high school. His friends had teased that she was practically a Tennyson already since her name fit the whole rhythming thing his family did. He'd been terrified to ask her out, she'd seemed so out of his league. No chance for anything beyond friendship. Then the perfect moment had come along, and things had been great until recently. He'd actually sacrificed some time with his mirror to spend time with her. And she'd been so damn ungrateful.

Dumped.

His temper flared at the thought. Technically, she'd said 'take a break until he got his act together', but it was effectively dumping him. She'd said he'd become weird. She'd even called him creepy. Creepy! It made his blood boil. He'd given up time with his mirror for her! If she came back and asked for forgiveness, he'd probably forgive her, but she had to apologize first.

"If you really like this girl, you shouldn't drag your feet too long," Max advised. "Girls don't like indecision, and they won't wait around forever."

"Yeah," Ken sighed. "I know. I just want it to be at the perfect moment, y'know." He was getting really good at lying. Part of him was ashamed, but another felt proud. Smug even.

His grandpa shook his head in amusement. "You always were a romantic. Your dad was the same way."

"Really?" Ken asked, raising his eyebrows. He could actually see that.

"Oh yes," Max said. "I'll have to tell you some of the stories sometime."

"And here I was thinking I'd heard it all." Minus all the alien stories that apparently made up 95% of his life.

Ugh. Why was he so mad? His head was throbbing. He didn't want to be mad. He was careful not to slam the trunk closed.

Pulling his wheeled suitcase behind him and carrying his bag in his other hand, he stepped onto the sidewalk. Looking up the street, he shifted on his feet nervously. "So… Ben and Gwen still don't know I'm coming?"

His grandfather shook his head. "It was so last minute," he reminded. "And you said you wanted it to be a surprise."

"Yeah, I know." He still thought it was the right decision. Better they not have time to prepare. He chewed at his lip nervously. "And I guess this plumber base is going to have a lot of aliens in it?"

Max frowned slightly and he angled himself so he had a better view of his grandson's face. Ken felt a flutter of embarrassment, but he stamped it out quickly.

"Yes," the older man said slowly. Why was he looking at him like that?

"Yeah, I figured."

His grandfather circled to stand in front of him. His expression was gentler than he'd thought it would be.

"I know you don't have much experience with aliens. And your first encounter wasn't exactly positive." No, really? Having a parasite burrow into your brain, control you and mutate your body wasn't a pleasant experience? Who would've thunk? A living nightmare was a better descriptor. "I understand you're probably nervous, but I promise no one here will hurt you. And I'm sure you'll adapt quickly."

Ken startled a little. "No, no, it's not that," he refuted quickly. "I'm not scared they'll attack me or anything like that." Just let them try. "I mean, I'll admit I'm a little nervous, but more about coming across as rude or dumb. I really don't know much about aliens. And there are so many different kinds." So good at lying. He didn't give a damn what those freaks thought about him. Still, being viewed as friendly would probably help him in the long run.

"Oh, I understand that," Max sympathized. "I remember my first day at the academy. So many species and cultures thrown at you all at once. It can be overwhelming, and I'd had experience with aliens beforehand. Don't worry about it too much. It will be easier than you think. And nobody's going to judge you even if you do make a small slipup here and there."

'Everybody is always judging everyone.'

"What exactly would be considered a slipup?" he asked dryly.

His grandpa gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, you'll pick that kind of stuff up. And they might be different, but at the end of the day, we all have the same core. Ben, Gwen, and I will all help you if you need it. I think you'll do better than you think."

"Thanks," Ken said, quirking a smile. He gave himself a small shake. "Well, we can't stand around all day. Let's get going."

"Sure thing," Max nodded. "Follow me. Gwen and Ben are going to be thrilled to see you." His grandfather began leading him up the sidewalk.

'You're sure Gwen won't be able to tell the difference? She won't sense anything?'

'The spell was flawless. Don't do any magic where she can see, and you'll be fine.'

The reassurance helped Ken relax somewhat. Before he knew it, he was in a large room full of technology he'd never seen before with many different creatures he'd never seen before milling about. Some of them looked at him curiously but none approached.

Until they entered the next room that is. This one was empty except for a tiny green alien working on a panel in the corner and the alien walking towards them. It looked like an overgrown fish. Tall, grey skin, light purple eyes, green fins and gills, an angular fish light on its head, fanged teeth that poked out over its lips. It was wearing the plumber uniform, which made sense, this being a plumber base. Ben could turn into one of those, he vaguely recalled. This one definitely wasn't Ben though. He'd called it Ripclaw or Ripjaw or something like that. Ken doubted that was the actual name of the species though.

'A Piscciss Volann,' the voice sneered. 'Nothing more than an overgrown fish. They shouldn't even be letting him on land like this. And he must be rather old to survive so well outside water. Heat would destroy him quickly.'

Hm, it did seem odd. Surely there were water planets he could be plumbing on. Was that what it was called? Plumbing? It would make sense, but no one ever told him anything so how would he know. Maybe fishman had just wanted a change of scenery. And earth was mostly water. Ugh, now he was picturing an ocean full of aliens. Not a nice picture.

"Max!" the alien greeted cheerfully. A friend of his grandpa then. The creature's eyes shifted to look at him. "So, this is the eldest grandkid, eh?"

Ken's heart skipped a beat. Someone who knew he existed? The weight in his chest lightened slightly.

'You're staying at their base, he had to tell someone you were coming.'

Oh, yeah, that made sense. The hope that had briefly sputtered within him withered away.

"That's right," Max confirmed, wrapping an arm around Ken's shoulder and smiling at him. His tone was confusing. He almost sounded proud, but that couldn't be it. He wasn't proud of him. Ken must be misreading it, or it was fake. Just didn't want to admit that the great Max Tennyson had a boring, ordinary grandkid. Yes, that had to be it.

"This is Ken," Max continued, blissfully unaware of the thoughts in Ken's head. "Ken, this is Magister Patelliday, an old friend of mine."

Hm, he knew his grandpa was a magister. So they were the same rank then. Fishman might be fairly important around here. He'd have to be especially careful around this one.

"Pleasure to meet you Ken," Patelliday said, reaching out to shake his hand. Ken let go of the suitcase handle to meet it. The hand felt scaly and was webbed, fingers ending with claws.

"You too," Ken returned with an affable grin. "Old friend, huh? You must have all kinds of stories."

Fishman chuckled. "I sure do. But I won't start prattling before you've even got a chance to unpack." The alien stepped back and studied him for a moment. Ken inwardly tensed. "My, my, you look a lot like your sister."

The unexpected observation sent a burst of pleasure through him. Which was soon followed by bitter resentment as he realized this thing probably spent more time with his sister than him. How was that fair?

'It isn't.'

He swallowed back the resentment best he could. "Yeah, she'd the pretty one though," he joked. They really did look a lot alike. Same hair, same eyes. Obviously related. He withheld a smug grin. Ben didn't look anywhere near as similar.

His eyes drifted towards the door on the far end of the room. He could sense Gwen's mana from here. She was close. So close.

Patelliday must have noticed his gaze drifting. "Well, run along and see your sister and cousin. I don't wanna keep you, just wanted to stop by and introduce myself. You need anything during your stay here, just let me know."

Ken thanked him and they went their separate ways. The anticipation vibrating under his skin burned. There was nervousness there too. And something else he couldn't quite place.

Ben would be there too. He wasn't sure how he'd react to seeing them both at once…

No, no it was fine. He was fine. He could handle it. Eyes on the prize.

Steeling himself, he stepped through the door.