My Lovely Family
Chapter 2 - Origins
A few months passed after Gwen's graduation. Now she was pursuing her Master's degree. Ben had rented a small apartment in Boston to live near her. Explaining the change to Carl and Sandra was not easy, but Ben found a way to do this. He said Harvard researchers were working together with the Plumbers to devise a new security technology, and he, as a superhero, had been invited to test the project (of course, his parents would not believe if he said he had been invited to monitor everything, as Ben did not understand anything about academic projects).
The building was five blocks away from college. After expedient, Gwen used to hurry home and dress up to spend the rest of the day with Ben. She had to come back earlier a few times as she was very dedicated to the masters. Nevertheless, Ben understood it perfectly. He had even hired a team of Plumbers to help him take care of Boston's safety since Vilgax made it clear he would not rest until he captured him. Ben's biggest concern was neither the time Gwen spent in master's degree nor the Vilgax attacks: it was to seek family's acceptance to their relationship.
(Opening theme)
In Bellwood, Natalie already knew about the cousins' courtship. It was something she strongly disagreed with. Frank, on the other hand, thought the best person to pick a boyfriend for Gwen was Gwen herself. Ben treated his uncle so respectfully and made Gwen so happy that Frank did not see a problem with having his nephew as a son-in-law (even more so because there were other cousin couples in the Tennyson family history).
"Couldn't Gwen ever choose a decent lad?" Natalie grumbled. "First that delinquent Kevin, thank God she broke up with him, now Ben? I know he's better than Kevin, but he's still not good enough for her".
"Natalie, Gwen is the one who chooses, and Ben is a good boy," Frank explained patiently.
"You say that because he's your nephew. I've always explained to Gwen that it's not wise to have a relationship with cousins. Besides, Ben doesn't have her class. He behaved well at the graduation party, but he has no elegance, no study, and no graduation. What kind of future is she going to have with him?
Natalie was a biology teacher and had retired when Gwen was 15. She knew that this story of married cousins having children with disabilities was not like that. What happened was that a child of cousin-parents was more likely to be born with a genetic disease present in the family because the two cousins were more likely to carry the genes. Natalie's biggest concern was not Ben's erudite family. Because, if that were a hindrance, she would never have married Frank. She feared that the Tennysons would carry some gene that could make Ben and Gwen's children born with hereditary diseases; after all, judging by Grandpa Max's relationships, there was no certainty as to the Tennysons' genetics.
"Look, I know Ben hasn't Gwen's degree. Even I believe she would be better off with someone who had the same degree as her. Someone with knowledge, with a similar mind, to talk about various subjects. But in the end, who chooses is her. And she feels good with Ben. He's at least a respectful boy, he never treated us rudely".
"Kevin also respected us and look what he did".
"Kevin was insincere. He didn't disrespect us because he knew Gwen would leave him. He could take her for a ride for a long time, but, thank God, Gwen realized he was not the right man for her and now she got a better one.
"Better than Kevin he is. But for this is not necessary to take much effort".
Kevin was in a diner, sitting at a table. He intended to have lunch and return to the workshop as soon as possible. He was going to receive galactic smugglers, who would pay him big money for a level 5 technology crate. A black-haired girl came toward him, wearing very short clothes.
"What's up, handsome?"
"Come on, baby," Kevin said with interest.
"May I sit here?"
"Sure, be my guest".
The girl sat down, leaning forward, showing her cleavage.
"I'm Tiffany".
"My name is Kevin".
"Have you been here for a long time?"
"Don't remind me. It looks like I asked them to kill the cow. I've been waiting for 20 minutes and my order has not arrived yet. And mind you I asked for something simple".
"Yeah. The world is full of incompetent people. In the meantime, we can know each other better ..."
Kevin shot her a malicious and seductive look. Tiffany aroused him much desire. However, inside, she thought, "How stupid is he! He didn't even notice that I'm the same girl he cheated on Gwen with. Hahahahahaha".
Ben was lying on his bed, with Gwen sitting next to him.
"Are you sure it's not personal?"
"Yeah, Ben. She is a biology teacher; she understands genetics like nobody else. She even taught me many things that the school didn't explain well. She is afraid we'll have an unhealthy child. Even more than our grandmother was alien and we don't know very well the genetics of Anodites, we don't know if we have that chance".
"Are you saying you're afraid of having children with me?" Ben asked a little worried.
"Of course not!" Gwen said firmly. "But we can't pretend the chance doesn't exist, Ben. The science says it. But there's a solution.
"And which one is it?"
"Many couples do genetic mapping to detect possible genes that cause diseases. I was going to propose that we go to a geneticist, but I remembered that Verdona is alien and we would need information on her genetics."
"And how are we going to do this?"
"We can go to Anodyne to visit Grandma. She will tell us everything".
"That's a great idea, but how do we get there? We'll take a long time by our ship".
Suddenly, Professor Paradox appeared in Ben's room, surprising the couple.
"Hello, friends!" Paradox greeted. "I hope I'm on time"; he looked at his watch; "Or am I two seconds late? Ah, time travel makes a mess ..."
"Professor Paradox!" exclaimed Ben. "Has anything happened?"
"Not yet, young Ben Tennyson, but it can happen. Before that, I would like to congratulate you. You make a beautiful couple!"
"Thank you, but ... How did you hear about us?" asked Gwen.
"I know it because the original timeline path is getting clearer. As you know, every choice we make or fails to make creates a parallel time dimension whose reality is linked to the original line. This is the only one that I can't travel to the future because it's a line in permanent construction. But when your path becomes clearer, it's a sign that you are approaching the best future possible. I can say that you will have a very happy destiny".
"I'm emotional to knowing that!" said Gwen. "We only need to convince my mother".
"That's what I'm here for. I'll transport you to Anodyne in the blink of an eye. You're not even going to need a ship".
Without wasting time, Paradox pressed a button on his watch and brought Ben and Gwen to Anodyne in a second.
"You can't stay here long. Anodyne's atmosphere carries energy levels that can be fatal to humans. But I think you can stay here for six hours". Paradox warned before disappearing.
Ben and Gwen were worried. They knew Verdona was a queen in Anodyne, but they had no idea how to find her. The anodites were all identical, and if they asked for help they would have difficulty following the person. Luckily, Verdona felt the presence of her grandchildren and went to meet them.
"My darlings! It's good to see you here! Have you decided to join the other energy beings?"
Gwen hated being considered an "energy being", but she was happy to see her grandmother. She and Ben hugged her.
"We're here because you're the only one who can help us, Grandma. We want to know a few things about your genetics".
Verdona was surprised at the request.
"Why? This is the first time I've been asked this".
"Well, we'd better start counting from the beginning. Ben and I are dating now..."
"Oh my God! My grandchildren fell in love!" celebrated Verdona. "What great news! Congratulations to both!"
Ben was startled by his grandmother's acceptance. He indeed wanted Natalie to have the same reaction.
"The problem is we don't know if we can have any genetic disease that can be passed to the children. So we wanted to know how anodite genetics works for us to make a genetic map". Even Ben was surprised at what he had just said; never thought he could talk about genetics with the correct terms.
"But you're not even married, and you're already thinking about your children?" Verdona joked.
"It's just to give my mother more confidence. She fears that our children will be born with problems. And even we have that doubt. We don't know anodite genetics, nor do we know if there are genetic diseases among them. Please help us, Grandma," said Gwen.
"In this case," said Verdona, "I will take you to the right place".
The grandmother transported the two grandchildren into the anodite royal palace. In the throne room was a large book containing the whole family tree and the characteristics of each member. Verdona explained to the grandchildren that although they are called "energy beings", anodites do have a solid body, softer than humans, and all the functions of the human body are present in the anodite bodies. The difference, of course, was in the ability to manipulate mana.
Ben and Gwen spent a long time learning about the genetics of anodites. They discovered that there were hereditary diseases, but no member of the royal family possessed them. Indeed the genetic mapping contained in the map showed the genotype of the cousins, and they were very happy to know that in both the Verdona and Max families there were no genes for diseases. That is, none of your children would be likely to be born with an illness.
Kevin was in the hood of his car, kissing Tiffany fiercely. His hands roamed her back and hair. She hung on his neck. Suddenly he remembered that there was a meeting with the smugglers.
"Oh, man! My bad, kitten. It's very yummy, but I have a reunion now."
"May I go with you?" Tiffany asked.
Kevin stopped to think and realized that Tiffany knew nothing about alien smuggling. "Maybe I'll get the deal and we go to a motel..." Kevin thought. "Gwen never wanted to have sex. Straight shooter... Maybe these chicks give me what I want".
He let her accompany him. Tiffany got in the car, gave him a peck, and they went to Kevin's garage.
"Great, Kevin!" Tiffany thought. "Let's have fun".
Gwen and Ben were in Bellwood, with a copy of the genetic map in hand. They thanked Professor Paradox and rushed to the house of Gwen's parents to tell Aunt Natalie everything. To their surprise, Carl and Sandra were paying a visit. Natalie and Frank had told of their relationship.
"Why didn't you tell us, Ben?" Sandra asked.
"I was afraid you wouldn't approve. I know Aunt Natalie don't accept me as her son-in-law, and I was afraid you wouldn't accept Gwen, just to retaliate".
"Gwen is the best daughter-in-law we could have. She's the only one who makes you happy. And why would we seek retaliation and make things difficult when we should be helping you?"
Gwen and Ben were thrilled. After a delicious conversation with their parents, they showed the genetic map of Verdona and Max' (which was also incredibly found in the book of the throne room). Natalie felt calmer. She still did not quite get the idea of having Ben as her son-in-law, but she was happy to see that there was no danger to the birth of her grandchildren. Over time, she could learn to like the boy, who was still a much better son-in-law than Kevin.
The cousins were back in Boston. They were kissing in Ben's room.
"I'm glad everything went well!" said Gwen.
"Yes! Now, all that is left is for you to finish your masters' degree and we will finally have some time alone". Ben said, giving a big smile and involving Gwen in a hug and a kiss.
"I'm glad we can be together now without guilt. And thank you for understanding my decision to remain a virgin until marriage".
"A real man must love and respect his girlfriend. My wills aren't the only ones that matter. We must understand and respect each other".
"Ooooh, Ben!" cried Gwen, kissing her cousin passionately. "You're the perfect man!"
Ben and Gwen made out for hours until she returned to her house. Ben went to sleep peacefully and happily. Nothing now separated him from his beloved.
Author's Notes
This chapter is not intended to discriminate against people who have genetic diseases, only a scientific explanation about the consequences of a relationship between cousins.
I intend to demystify this theme, which is subject of many myths.