My Lovely Family
Chapter 8 - Gabriella
- FLASHBACK: LAST YEAR -
Kevin was in New York. He wanted to return to the city where he lived for many years and met the Tennysons. He had told Julie he was going to find a customer, but in fact, Kevin was going through a rough patch and coming back to New York to think about the new directions in his life.
"What I got for being nice?" he thought. "Gwen hadn't sex with me, broke up because I made out with Lucy, I married Julie, and what I got? The woman I love is married to that bastard and she's having kids, while I stay with Julie, with no children, and let down, isn't it? Well, that's enough!"
Kevin continued to meet smugglers in New York. After a three-week stay, he got a revolver and broke down a jewelry store door.
"EVERYBODY TO GROUND NOW!"
(Opening theme)
The security guards fired, but Kevin wore alien technology under his clothes that shielded his body. He pulled a small bomb from his pocket and threw it at the security guards, creating a power grid that damaged the weapons.
"Just give me all and no one is dead."
People were on the floor, terrified. The employees gave the goods to Kevin. That jewelry store sold items from other planets, which were worth a fortune. He intended to steal them to smuggle them later. Kevin couldn't help feeling good about it. He felt his sleeping side finally awaken.
But Kevin's joy was short-lived, and when he returned to the street trying to escape, he was surrounded by police and Plumbers. A witness outside recognized him and called the appropriate authorities.
"STOP, KEVIN!" shouted a Plumber.
He tried to shoot, but the guards protected themselves and an agent fired a kind of sphere that captured Kevin, preventing him from carrying out more attacks. The jewels were returned and the robber was accompanied by the authorities.
Julie was in a rented room when she got a call.
"Mrs. Levin? Here is Deputy Jameson from the 10th District of New York Police Department. I came to tell you that your husband was arrested for armed robbery."
- END OF FLASHBACK -
Gwen played with Cassandra while Ben made Gwendolyn sleep. Max arrived, worried.
"Ben, I need to talk to you. It's very important!"
"Oh, damn it!" lamented Ben. "Gwen, can you put the baby to sleep?" he put the daughter on his wife's arms.
"Sure, Ben," answered Gwen. "Come on, Cassie," she said, holding the girl's hand and going to the elevator. "Let's put Gwendolyn on the crib, then we play more."
When Gwen went up, Ben turned to his grandfather.
"What's it now? It seems no emergency."
"No, but it can be" Max answered. "It involves Julie and Kevin."
"Isn't Kevin arrested?"
"Yes. But he's not the biggest problem, Ben. He was in New York doing illegal trade of alien technology, and we have to find out what faction is behind it."
"I don't know if we even can be more surprised by Kevin... when we think he shaped up, he gets back to bad" Ben lamented. "How does a married guy who has a chance to have a normal life suddenly decides to rob?"
"Probably Kevin has a side that calls him to crime whenever things don't go the way he wants."
"You're saying that…"
"Kevin is not happy with his life. If he were, he would give Julie a comfortable life, not go after jewelry to rob."
Ben and Max told Gwen what was going on and went to Mount Rushmore while she stayed at headquarters looking for information. The girls slept.
Four aliens entered Dr. Animo's secret laboratory. They came to deliver him an order.
"Here are the components."
"Wonderful! How you got it?" asked the crazy scientist.
"We bought from that Osmosian who lives on Earth," they were referring to Kevin.
"Ah, I knew one day he would be useful to me! The payment is on the table."
Dr. Animo had changed a lot since last time Ben and Gwen defeated him 10 years ago. His head was now held in a bubble with a clear liquid and attached to a gorilla body. But his goal was the same as always: to build a machine able to mutating every animal and human on Earth.
"Fascinating!" he exclaimed while installing the component on the machine. "With this advanced alien technology, I'll transform all Earth inhabitants and command this entire planet!"
Mr. Yamamoto drove with his daughter to a New York state prison.
"How many years he was sentenced to?"
"7 years."
"So you'll not see him all this time?"
"Of course not. I come to visit him once a month."
"Julie, my daughter. Don't you think it's time to end it all?"
"What are you saying?"
"Kevin was arrested for armed robbery. He's a criminal, a crook. And are you still going to play as a toy with him?"
"He's my husband!" Julie answered firmly, but without changing her voice. "And I love him. I'll be by his side, always!"
Mr. Yamamoto was worried about his daughter. She was hopelessly in love with a man unable to give her a dignified life.
"Honey, there's still time for you to get another one. You're young, you're beautiful, and you have no children yet. Drop this crap and look for someone who respects you, who values you."
"He respects me. I love him, daddy. That will not change."
When they arrived in prison, Julie was searched and was finally able to visit Kevin in a cell reserved for intimate visits.
"You thought I wouldn't come?" she asked delicately.
"Oh, Julie!" Kevin ran to hug her. "I missed you so much!"
The couple kissed. Julie stayed her husband until the visiting time was over.
Three months later, Ben and Gwen went to visit their parents in Bellwood. Natalie was talking on the phone before they arrived.
"Look, this child stuff complicates things a little, but you can still separate them," said Gwen's aunt. "Trust me, I've seen several cases of women who left their husbands and took the children."
"But if she gets another man... what about the kids?" asked Natalie.
"No, you can't let Gwen remarry. Tell her no man will take care of children like Ben. Then she comes back to your house, or you start living in her house, and helps taking care of the girls…"
The doorbell rang.
"Look, I'll have to turn off 'cause doorbell's ringing. I'll call you soon"
"Okay. But remember what I said, right, Ly?"
"Of course. Leave it to me. Alright, bye-bye."
"Goodbye."
Natalie turned off the phone and opened the house door. She immediately took Cassandra in her lap.
"Grandma!"
"Oh, grandma's pretty girl! Come here," she said while filling the granddaughter with kisses. "Grandma's most beautiful girl!"
Cassandra laughed and then ran, looking for something to play with. Natalie took Gwendolyn in her lap and did the same to her. Then she greeted her daughter and son-in-law. When everyone entered, Ben held Cassandra before she broke anything.
"Congratulations on your pregnancy, my daughter! You know yet what's the prediction?"
"It'll probably be born in October, Mom."
"Oh, that's great! I'll schedule myself to visit you when the time comes" Natalie turned to Ben as if to impute something to him. "I didn't know you wanted to have three kids. I thought there would only be two."
"We're trying to have a boy now, Aunt Natalie" answered Ben.
"And if it's a girl what are you gonna do? You'll throw her away?" the mother-in-law asked without changing the tone with which she was at first.
"Mom!" scolded Gwen.
"We won't throw her away," Ben said firmly but respectfully. "If it's a girl, she'll be looked after like our other daughters."
"Oh good!" exclaimed Natalie. "Because you know, Ben, parents shouldn't choose their children's sex."
"I'm not choosing its sex. It's just 'cause I knew when I was 16 that I would have a boy…"
"And where's the son you had at 16?" the mother-in-law hoped to find some rotten in her son-in-law's past to use it against him.
"I had none at 16, but at that age, I knew I would have in the future."
"So you wanted to know when the supposed boy was going to be born?" she looked at him like he was a former drug addict.
"Yes."
"And if it's a girl what are you going to do?" Natalie asked as if they hadn't answered the same question minutes ago.
"Oh... that's great! The old witch got Alzheimer's!" thought Ben.
"We'll take care as we always took care of our daughters," Gwen replied, visibly annoyed by her mother's behavior. "Do you think we would be able to abandon a child? When I was younger, you always told me you wanted to have a daughter."
"I wanted to have a daughter when I had a daughter and I wanted to have a boy when I had a boy" replied Natalie.
Gwen hated when her mother said one thing and sometime later said something quite different. When Frank came down to greet them, Natalie went into the kitchen.
"I hope it's a girl just to shut your mouth, Ben," she thought.
The mother-in-law knew that Ben's intention was not to reject a possible daughter and that his desire to have a male child was entirely understandable. But she had no interest in being nice to her son-in-law. She planned to beat him by tiredness.
Months later, the Tennysons were back in the ultrasound room.
"But look what a surprise," said the doctor.
Ben and Gwen were looking at the picture trying to figure out the sex. Cassandra was standing in front of the carriage where Gwendolyn slept and made fun, causing laughter in her sister.
"It's another girl."
The couple welcomed the news. Although Ben wanted a boy, he was very happy with the new baby. When the rest of the relatives came in and heard the news, Natalie was the first to comment.
"A girl…" She looked victorious. Ben had the impression his mother-in-law was mentally laughing at him. "Why don't you choose the name this time, Gwen? Since at other times it was Ben who chose…"
"A great idea!" answered Gwen. "I already have the perfect name in mind."
"It's a boy, Mrs. Levin," said the doctor.
"A boy!" thrilled Julie. "Kevin will be so glad…"
Her father was crying when he saw the pictures of his grandson.
"I can't believe I'm going to be a grandfather... Oh, Julie, congratulations!" he said as he hugged his daughter.
Back home, Julie called the prison to give the news to her husband. After going through various sectors and waiting for a long time, she was finally able to talk to her husband.
"Hello, Julie!"
"Kevin, my love, I have great news!"
"That's indeed good! What's the news?
"It's a boy, Kevin! We are going to have a son!"
For a second Kevin was amazed. His criminal side fell asleep again and he was very happy to hear the news.
"I'm going to be a father?" he asked excitedly.
"Yes!"
"And of a boy?"
"Yes, Kevin! We are going to have a boy!"
He shouted for joy, telling everyone that he was going to have a child. The guards and other inmates applauded.
"I swear, Julie! I indeed want to be with you. When you come, I will show you how happy I am!"
Julie was calmed by her husband's reaction. At the time, she didn't care she would have to raise her son alone while Kevin was in prison. All she thought was that soon she would be with him on that month's visit.
It was October 24th of that year. Gwen and Ben were waiting for the nurse to bring the baby. Cassandra was standing beside her father, who was holding her hand while carrying Gwendolyn with the other arm.
The newborn had brown hair and green eyes.
"Look, Ben! She has your hair!"
"Truth! I didn't expect her to have dark hair."
"For you to see what genetics are like."
"But she has your eyes."
"And how do you know? She didn't open them yet.
"I have this intuition…"
The family entered the room and Cassandra ran to uncle Ken. He lifted his niece up and then settled her on his lap.
"What's the name?" he asked.
"Gabriella," said Gwen.
The press massively disseminated the news, as it had previously done. Gabriella would be the perfect mix of her parents. She had Gwen's face (and eyes) and Ben's hair. She would grow up like a kind and selfless girl, always willing to help those in need.
In Bellwood, the same day, Julie was in the maternity ward with her father. A male nurse brought him the baby, who had black hair, like his parents.
"What's the name?" asked Mr. Yamamoto while looking at his grandson.
"Devlin" Julie answered.
"Devlin Levin?"
"Yeah. It was Kevin who chose it."
"If you like it, I like the name too."
Two months after Gabriella's birth, Dr. Animo led a mutant attack on Keystone. Winged snakes, which had Stinkfly's DNA, covered the skies. Wild dogs, which had Wildmutt's DNA, terrified people. But, like Charmcaster, Dr. Animo was not present at the incident, but at his operational base, controlling the machine on which he worked for months. He planned to distract Ben from discovering his operations.
Gwen was in a recovery period and couldn't fight. Ben turned into the XLR8 and rushed into town with a mutating plumber weapon, Rook accompanied him to capture the animals and then return them to their original habitat.
"They're many, Rook," said XLR8. "Can't you figure out where they're coming from?"
"It is impossible now," Rook said. "But I know who can help us."
Rook contacted Max and quickly told him that they needed to find out the creatures' focus. He fiddled with the computers in the central pillar but found no place nearby that would be emitting those mutants.
"Grandpa, give me the Omnitrix prototype, please," Gwen asked.
"You can't fight, Gwen."
"I'll not fight, but I'll help. Just keep an eye on the girls."
Max gave her the device and the granddaughter turned into the Upgrade. Immediately, she infiltrated the system to widen the radar range. She found Dr. Animo's hideout 12 miles from Bellwood and contacted her husband.
"Ben, Dr. Animo's emitting his mutant radius from a plant twelve miles from Bellwood. You have to go there and stop him. But go fast! A satellite is expected to receive its signal within 1 hour and it can spread this plague all over the Earth."
"Great, Gwen! But tell me how I go to Bellwood in an hour, woman…" XLR8 asked.
"We have the teleportation system for Bellwood, dweeb! Forgot it?"
The Plumbers had installed this system if Ben and Gwen's family needed them immediately. He linked Bellwood to every town where the cousins were. That was how Natalie's family could come to the wedding by car.
Some Plumbers have been called in to continue the task of bringing creatures back to normal and saving people. Using the teleportation, XLR8 and Rook arrived at the local Plumbers base and set off for Dr. Animo's hideout. Once there, the hero changed into Diamondhead form.
"Surrender, Dr. Animo!"
And end up with the best chance I've had in years? Forget it!" answered the villain.
"Then we will have to get you out of there by force!" exclaimed Rook before firing his proto-tool.
Diamondhead ran as he launched projectiles toward Dr. Animo, but he deflected as he spun his machine around to reach the heroes with his shifting beam. Ben had already such an experience when he was 10 years old. At that time, Grandpa Max was mutated with Stinkfly's DNA, but Ben and Gwen managed to reverse the situation.
"You'll not stop me, Tennyson. Let's see what your wife will think about your new look" said the mad scientist before abruptly turning his beam to Diamondhead, who was barely struck.
The satellite was approaching and Rook felt there was nothing more to be done. That's when a portal opened behind Dr. Animal and Upgrade infiltrated his machine, changing its settings and disabling it.
"Noooo!" shouted the villain. "But how is it possible? Being in two places at the same time…"
"Who said I am?" asked Diamondhead.
Dr. Animo looked back and was confused.
"So... if you're Tennyson... who is it…?"
Upgrade punched the villain in the face and knocked him out of his machine.
"It's over, Animo!" said the heroine, returning to her normal form.
With Dr. Animo being taken to a special prison in Galvan Prime, Rook, Ben, and Gwen returned to Keystone. The city was saved and there were no people in danger.
"So the Omnitrix works without you being pregnant," Ben said.
"Exactly!" confirmed Gwen.
"I knew I could count on you, love!" Ben hugged his wife.
The couple kissed and hugged their daughters, who until then were playing with Max. Everyone was sure there would be no villain immune to the Tennysons.
Author's Notes
Kenny's birth, the same character shown in "Ken 10", is close. It is worth remember Devlin, who was born in this chapter, is one year older than him.