My Lovely Family

Chapter 15 - New plans

"Julie, welcome. Let's talk better about it."

"Thank you, Ben. I hope I don't bother…"

"No, come on…" Ben activated the communicator to warn Gwen that Julie was there.

Gwen ended Cassandra's training under her protests and rushed to the entrance floor. Max went to the training room to take his great-granddaughter to play with her siblings.

"Come on, Cassie. Let's play that little car game you like."

Cassandra got extremely happy. Just as Ben loved Sumo Slammers, she was in love with car games since she was 4 years old. Kenny was always on her side to watch the matches.

(Opening theme)

The three were in a private room. Julie tried to hold on to her tears. Gwen held her hand to calm her down.

"Marrying him was the worst mistake of my life. A crazy, sociopathic, sexist, manipulative…" Julie started to cry, but Gwen hugged her.

"Calm down, Julie. We all make mistakes. I was fooled by that bastard myself."

"He's obsessed with you, Gwen. He wants you at all costs. He won't rest until your marriage is over."

"Oh, no!" lamented Ben. "One more, no! Man, there are billions of women out there, why does everyone want my wife?"

"What we have to do is go after him and make sure he doesn't go out anymore," Gwen said. "But to do this, you can't help him anymore, Julie!"

"I was wrong. I thought that out of jail he was going to devote himself to our family. But that's not what happened. I had to escape from the hideout in the middle of the night with our son and our things."

"Wait! Do you have a son?" Ben asked in amazement.

"We do. A boy named Devlin. He was born the same day as Gabriella."

"Oh boy!" exclaimed Gwen. "So if it has a child in the middle, attention should be doubled. Julie, tell us where Kevin's hideout is and we'll send a team of trained Plumbers to arrest him."

"It's in a township 12 miles from Bellwood. I don't know the name, but I have the coordinates on a device he gave me to help him escape."

Suddenly, Max appeared as a hologram.

"GWEN, BEN, HELP! THE CHILDREN ARE ATTACKING THEMSELVES!"

"MY GOD!" shouted the two before running into the training room.

Cassandra, Gwendolyn, Gabriella, and Kenny were playing at attacking each other with beams and spheres of mana. Cassandra and Kenny formed a duo, while Gwendolyn and Gabriella another. Max had tried to stop them but failed. The best he could do was to get Talitha and Karina out of the room. When the parents arrived, Gwen separated the four children into spheres, suspending them in the air. The four screamed in fear.

"Oooooh, fear of heights you have. But not to blind yourselves with mana, isn't it?" she said, scolding the children.

"Nothing a good belt can't fix," said Ben.

That's when the little ones screamed even more, desperately trying to get each one out of their sphere. Gwen set them down and let them go. But quickly Cassandra shouted:

"Let's continue!"

But they only could fire one shot each, as Gwen retained them in the spheres, this time on the floor. She led them into the main room of headquarters.

The children were sitting on the sofa, facing their parents.

"Very well," Ben began, with a belt in his hand. "Which of the four do I start with?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH" the four shouted in fear, sinking into the sofa. Kenny ran terrified into Cassandra's lap, which hugged him as if she were protecting him.

"Ben! This is gonna traumatize them," said Gwen, signaling to her husband that they should not hit their children. "So, kids… do you know the danger you were in? Mana is not a toy! It's a powerful energy that should be used as a weapon only in attacks. And real attacks, not playing! Did you know that you could have lost an eye?"

The children listened in regret.

"Sorry, Mommy," Gwendolyn said with her head down.

"I forgive, but only if you promise me you'll never do it again."

"And that goes for you three too!" said Ben.

"Sorry, Daddy," Cassandra, Gabriella, and Kenny said at the same time.

"You're still children. You shouldn't get into this fight against villains business" - after hearing her mother say those words, Cassandra frowned.

"That's not fair!" she complained. "I already know how to read and do spells! I can fight!"

"Cassandra, you're too little!" scolded Ben.

"I'm NOT!"

"And being a hero takes responsibility! And that doesn't include creating little mana wars that can hurt your little siblings!"

"No one got hurt!"

"Cassandra, you're not grown yet, not mature, and end of the talk! You won't fight villains until you grow up!"

She prepared herself to scream, but Ben cut her off.

"And if you yell at me again, I'll take you six belt hits, one for each year from your age. Let's see if you can learn that way."

The children were silent. The four apologized to their parents once again. Gwendolyn took Gabriella to play in her room. Cassandra felt a mixture of sadness with fear and anger. She went to her room, with Kenny going after her.

"That's not fair!" she complained. "Daddy doesn't like me. No one likes me!"

"I like you!" Kenny ran his hand over her sister's face, wanting to pet her. She put him on her bed and laid him beside her.

"You're the only one who understands me, Kenny!" she kissed his forehead. "Come on, let's play the race car game."

It seemed she had quickly forgotten about the scolding she had received a short time ago. Cassandra was soon playing her favorite game, controlling her race car through various circuits while Kenny watched her and had fun with her.

At Bellwood, as usual, Natalie was talking to her sister on the phone.

"Do you know what your dream means, Ly? That your strategy's not working. You have to be more incisive. Act more and talk less. You won't convince her to quit Ben just with words."

"Hmmm… now you gave me a great idea! I'll save my daughter! But for that, I need to know if you can come here on Saturday."

"I can, Ly. Sure!"

"And, Le, do you still have contact from that modeling agency?"

"Yes."

"So we'll need it…"

Gwen's phone rang. It was Rook.

"Gwen, we are here with Julie at the address, and we have bad news. Kevin fled."

"Fled? Oh my God, what now?"

"We will track him down. It may take months, but we will find it. In order not to give clues to your whereabouts, I suggest that the Plumbers take care of the crimes you and Ben fight daily. That way Kevin gets aimless and easier to find."

"Thanks so much, Rook! Great job!"

Gwen got another call. It was her mother.

"Hello, daughter."

"Hi, Mom! All right?"

"All right, honey. Everything's good! And how are the kids?"

"They're all fine, they're playing."

"Oh, how wonderful! So, Gwen, I'm calling you to know if you could come to dinner at my house on Saturday. Your aunt comes here and she wanted to see you. It's also my chance to truly apologize to Ben."

"Sure, Mom! I'll talk to Ben and confirm later."

That Saturday, the Tennysons went to Natalie's house. Her sister was already there, talking to her.

"So, Natalie, talk normally. Treat him like a Gwen partner."

When they arrived, Natalie opened the door and greeted them warmly. Frank, Ken, and her aunt did the same. Gwen was holding Talitha in her lap and Ben was carrying Karina. Max was with them to help with the children. Cassandra, Gwendolyn, Gabriella, and Kenny walked normally.

When everyone was eating dinner, the doorbell rang. Everyone but Natalie was surprised. Max opened the door and a tall, handsome man entered.

"Oh, Robin, I'm glad you arrived!" said Gwen's mother. "Come on, I want to introduce you to everyone. Guys, this is Robin, he's a Dutch model coming to dinner with us."

The kids were a little shy, but they got up from their chairs to greet him.

"This is my daughter Gwen…" - as soon as Natalie introduced her, Robin kissed her hand, making Ben jealous - "She's a businesswoman, NASA and Plumbers representative, and winner for five consecutive years of the Miss United States and Miss Universe pageant. Oh, but look what a coincidence: you were also Mister Netherlands and Mister Universe in the same years hahaha…"

"Nice to meet you, Gwen!"

"Nice to meet you too," she gave him a friendly smile.

Ben approached his wife and hugged her from behind.

"Oh, this is Ben, my son-in-law…" - Natalie introduced him - "He's a 'superhero'" - she said, trying to hide her disdain.

Ben shook Robin's hand as the children approached him.

"Oooooh, here are my treasures: these are Cassandra, Gwendolyn, Gabriella, and Kenny. There in the seats are Talitha and Karina."

The model kissed each child on the forehead.

"You are very handsome!" said Cassandra.

"Oh, thank you so much, cutie! You're all very beautiful children."

"They take after their mother," Natalie said.

"Aren't he prettier than Daddy, Cassie?" asked Gwen's aunt playfully.

"Veeeery handsome!" she replied.

Robin was a handsome man with an athletic body and a beautiful smile. He was the same age as Ben and Gwen. His eyes were brown and his hair had a few gray strands, though he was in his thirties. He was very charming, and no doubt far more attractive than Ben.

The doorbell rang again. Another handsome guy came in.

"William! What a nice surprise! Come on! Come meet everyone."

The scene repeated itself. William was a blond man with sapphire blue eyes. He was not as muscular as Robin or Ben but had a well-defined body.

"William's from England. An English lord, practically," Natalie introduced him. "It was twice Mister UK."

Again, the doorbell rang. Three men came, one Canadian, one French, and one Belgian. They were all very handsome models and beauty pageant winners. Natalie introduced them to everyone and told them to sit next to Gwen. As she was between Ben and Cassandra, the guests sat opposite her, side by side. Ben quietly turned his wine glass.

"Where do you know so much model, Aunt Natalie?"

"Oh, I knew them by my sister. She's a doctor, you know, Ben. And once William was taken care of by her and gave her the agency card. As she always liked fashion, these things, she went to meet the models and they became friends of the family. And look how handsome they are! One prettier than the other! Don't you think, Gwen?"

"Oh, yes, yes, they are very pretty," she replied, a little sheepishly, but in a way that understood that her comment was professional.

After an hour of conversation, in which the models joined the Tennysons, the doorbell rang again. Natalie got up and opened the door, bringing the guest into the dining room.

"Look who's heeeere, Gwen: it's Cooper!" she said. "He came to see you!"

That was the last straw for Ben. He knew that was Natalie's plan to convince her daughter to pick one of the handsome ones over him. Over time, he was drinking more and more wine, and Gwen didn't notice. Natalie noted her son-in-law's condition, thanking God the children were playing with Ken in Gwen's former bedroom. She called her daughter to a small room, bringing her sister and the models with her.

"See, Gwen: You have a lot of options. Come on, Robin," - she signalized to him to get closer - "Didn't you keep saying the Dutchmen were the most handsome in the world? I found you a handsome Dutchman for you. Look how charming!"

"Mom, I understand, but you're a little late…" joked Gwen.

"Ah, did you change preference?" - Natalie pretended to misunderstand it - "So come here, William. I know you like blue eyes very much, Gwen. Look at those heeeeere! They look like two jewels!"

"Mom, they're all handsome, but I'm married."

"Oh, that doesn't mean anything," said her aunt. "I have married myself, and I dumped my husband a long time ago."

"And look at this one," Natalie asked the Canadian to approach. "Look what a handsome Native! Taylor has a six-pack, Gwen! Didn't you keep saying you liked six-pack?"

"Yeah, that's why Ben worked to have one."

"Oh, Ben, Ben, Ben… who cares about Ben? Let's talk about real beauty, daughter. Lancelot, come here, please."

The Frenchman approached Natalie.

"Look what a knockout, Gwen. And the best part: he's Jewish! Didn't you keep telling me you thought Jewish men were very handsome?"

"Trust me…" - said the aunt - "… I dated Jews and they are great!"

Natalie hasn't even expected her daughter to say anything and has asked for the Belgian to approach.

"And look at this, daughter. Maximilian is Belgian. Belgians are very charming. And this one has a lot of money... he has an apartment in Monaco, daughter! It's what you always wanted to have. And now you'll have two, counting with yours!"

"Look, if I were you, I wouldn't waste it," Natalie's sister advised.

"So, my daughter. Look at these Greek gods before you. Much better than that good-for-nothing Ben! And there's Cooper in the room, which you know well. Choose one of them, then I will support you."

"Mom! Look, I appreciate what you're doing, and thank you all for coming. I don't want to hurt anyone, but I'm married. I love Ben, he's the father of my six children."

"Ah, but that's no problem… Robin also has two children, you can raise the children together…"

"Mommy, please. This is not cool. It's embarrassing for me, and I'm sure it's for them too. Please respect our marriage. Excuse me…"

Gwen left the room and found an unfortunate scene. Frank and Max were trying to hold Ben, who was drunk and "facing" Cooper.

"I knou uat u uaaaaaant... u uant to take my wife, but I uont let."

"Me?" Cooper wondered. "I don't want anything. I'm married to Emily, Ben. You and Gwen were our best man and maid of honor, remember?"

"I remember dat u gave a sh(censored) gift to uz! U gave uz two f(censored) uglee keechainz. Billionaire and gave a sh(censored) gift like dat to uz? Oh but I'm gonna katch yuuuuu" - Ben tried to move on Cooper, but his father-in-law and grandfather held him. He looked at his side and sighted Gwen - "Gwen, my looooooov... send dose males your mom brought to f(censored) Cooperz wife. For him to see uat is good!".

"Guys, come to see this! DADDY'S DRUNK AGAIN!" Cassandra shouted. Her siblings came running and a chorus of laughter began. Ken laughed with his nephew and nieces.

Suddenly the neighborhood began to run desperately. Gwen went out to see what it was. She found Kevin, in a mutation just like when he was 11, terrifying everyone. He sighted her.

"Hello, Gwen! Missed me?"

Author's Notes

The models were inspired in real life men:

1) Robin: Robin van Persie (Dutch soccer player)

2) William: Prince William

3) Taylor: Taylor Lautner (American actor)

4) Lancelot: Michael Vartan (French actor)

5) Maximilian: Max Verstappen (Dutch Formula One driver)

Search them on Google to access their photos and imagine the characters.