Of course Ben would run into trouble. The first thing that happened was that Ben's sex-change caused a stir at the border-control. This kept them from boarding the plane until Rook had the bright idea to call Magister Tennyson who cleared up the discrepancy. After this, they were free to board the plane. Ben hoped, that their little issue didn't attract any unwanted notice.
...
During take-off Ben fidgeted around with the educational pamphlet, Gwen had given her, after they boarded the plane. As if reading about periods was going to do her any good. She folded it a few times and thumbed through the pages. Her feet were tapping the floor the whole time. The Revonnahgander next to her exhaled and looked up from his book. It was difficult to concentrate on anything. Especially with Ben twitching around in her seat.
"Is something upsetting you Ben?" Rook put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it to signal positive reassurance to his partner.
Thanks, ' Psychiatry Today ' for 'Tips to calm down people'.
The brunette kept herself from rolling her eyes and shook off Rook's hand. "Something- feels off-" she mused. Rook couldn't decipher her cryptic speech and inquired further.
Ben continued talking. "Those last three days have been too peaceful. Where are the villains? Usually they're not that quiet. Something is going on and I don't like it.".
Rook gave her an understanding smile in return. "It just means that the Plumbers do a good job in catching and containing criminals." Rook inferred.
His smile dropped again and he reopened his book. Now, where was he? Rook had just read the first word as Ben raised her voice again.
She kept arguing, "But- there are still a lot of villains currently-".
Her partner interrupted Ben, looking up from his travel-lecture. "-Currently under strict observation by the Plumbers." he finished her sentence, "We do not let them run around and we know most of their locations. You should relax Ben.".
She threw a doubtful glance at him, then repeated what he said. " 'Most of their locations', most of them. That's not enough. Most is not all of them.", she insisted. Ben crossed her arms and frowned at the book. As if it was to blame for her situation.
Her furry companion drew a deep breath. It was obvious that the alien was tired of arguing. As a Plumber he had heard all those accusations before. "We are trying. Besides, you forget that if any criminals would have tried to get on this airplane the security at the airport would have dealt with them. If you want to be sure we can make a call to Magister Tennyson at the airport in London." With a sigh, Ben gave up on the discussion and looked out of the window, still playing with the pamphlet. It was all crumpled up by now.
...
A black haired man with dark sunglasses threw glances over his newspaper to the brunette. He wiped off the sweat on his brow from time to time with a handkerchief. The brunette in front of him hadn't recognized him. Once again he pulled his shades up to hide the deep scar on his face, which went over his left, blinded eye. Chadwick would laugh at them. The Plumbers have great security? Here he was, sitting right behind them. If only he hadn't chosen to wear this horrible high-collared shirt in this horrible heat. That had been a bad idea.
Anyways, that was Ben Tennyson? Had he heard right? He was pretty sure the Omnitrix-wielder was male. Or at least he was 99% sure. The black-haired man stroked his now beardless chin. He was going to regrow it as soon as he was off this airliner. Though he had eavesdropped, the whole way from the airport security, to here.
Thank god, they were too busy creating a fuss over the girl in front of him to care about his fake I.D.
It was laughable. The way Ben had tried to lower her voice and pleaded for the security personnel to remain discreet. She did wear the Omnitrix for crying out loud. What kind of idiot would just overlook such a fact? And she wore the same boy-clothes. Chadwick had gotten a nice view of them. Not that they had changed. But her body had changed. He liked it. The way in which they stretched around her curvacious body, the way her shirt clung to her bosom, and her pants hugged her hips- his mind drifted a little off; painting a different picture-
Flustered, he shook his head. No, he was not going there. Contain yourself, Joseph- there was no reason for such – thoughts. Never mind that this was his worst enemy and there were better fish in the sea. Who in their right mind would choose such a person as a mate?
The man hid behind his newspaper, closed his eyes and inhaled. He shook his head as the stewardess asked him if he was interested in any refreshments. Extreme emotions caused his Hyde-side to act up. Sometimes. Though he was generally good with keeping those in check, but sometimes- He relaxed, still listening to the brat and the feline talking.
At least he had the excuse of gathering intelligence. He wondered if his colleagues, and he used that term very loosely, knew of the surveillance the Plumbers put them under. They couldn't be that good in it, otherwise he wouldn't be here, now, spying on them. Let's face it, the Plumbers were jokes! SECT and Interpol were bigger threats to him.
...
After their talk about the Plumbers Chadwick didn't hear them talk for half an hour. Afterward they continued with inane small- talk. Ben was going to visit someone called Azmuth and she wondered how Ester and Kai were going to react. Chadwick didn't know all the names which were dropped. Kai Green was the granddaughter of the retired Plumber, Wes Green they had kidnapped to get Dr. Jekyll's serum and then Excalibur. Ester was, from what he had read in one of the files he had gotten from a spy, a hybrid.
Her mother was according to the file a criminal. That woman sat in jail for arson and jaywalking, but she was going out on parole soon. Ester's father was an alien who died a long time ago. Why can't all aliens be like that? Dead.
He didn't know who Azmuth was, though. Someone important?
Well, it didn't matter. The doctor knew the people he had to call when he was back on the mainland that was good enough. Chadwick had gathered that, they would board another plane. But not him, he still had things to do in Britain. Important things. There was no rest for the wicked.
...
After two and a half hours Ben excused herself and went to the bathroom. She took some time to take a quick look over the passengers in the plane. Ben was still paranoid about the whole security situation. I.D masks could hide any criminal. I.D-masks and fake passports. No criminals, right. Her partner had actually ensured her twice during the trip about this.
A man came out of the cabin behind her. But she was too absorbed with observing the passengers in front of her she didn't notice him. After she had taken a good look at the other attendees of the flight she spun around and bumped into him with vigor. Her fall was stopped by a strong hand clutching her wrist. Ben laughed, a little embarrassed at what had happened. Then she realized how feminine it sounded and stopped. By everything that was holy, she hated this body. Soon, she was going to be a he again. Just- a matter of days.
As she stood steady again she realized that the man hadn't released his grip from her wrist. It was the same wrist which was adorned by the Omnitrix. How cold this hand was and so thin, but at the same time strong. They seemed like steel shackles. She looked up into his eyes, which he tried to hide behind dark sunglasses. Those had slipped off his nose from the impact. It uncovered the telltale scar and they met each others gaze.
Ben's eyes widened and her heart tried to escape out of her chest. It was beating faster and faster. As the tall man leaned towards her she could feel his breath. The smell of Old Spice filled her nose. There was a large knot forming in Ben's stomach. She was sure to throw up. But instead of coming closer he drew back. For a moment he held her wrist and then let go. At the same time his other hand pushed up his shades in a swift motion.
Instead of saying anything else he just gritted his teeth and nodded at her in a courteous manner, pushing past her. It was better not to play with fire. He got burned once.
Ben decided to keep her back straight and walked to the toilet. She took wide steps and tried not to raise any unwanted attention.
…
Once inside the cabin she took a deep breath. Her head leaned against the cold mirror. She tried to clear her head with some cold water.
He was here, on this airliner, not even thirty inches between them. Nobody could tell her otherwise! How much did he know? About her, about her current condition, about what happened? What were the chances? But he didn't seem to have known her at all. He must have been pretending. But if she'd transform and fought him everyone would know about Ben's new body. And she didn't want that.
She had to go and give him the benefit of doubt.
She had to assume, hope, he did not know.
A few meters away from her, sitting in his seat, Chadwick had the exact same problem.
But both realized, that they couldn't call out their assumptions. Starting a fight was problematic for several reasons. First, there was too little space and the second reason: they had to keep their secrets secret. The two had to act on their theory that the other did not know about them. The rest of the flight was spent in silence.
Neither talked or made a move, both aware and yet pretending to be unaware of the other.
...
Ben finally faced her friends as they were out of the plane, pulling them into a small corner away from preying eyes and ears. Ben took a deep breath. As if she was holding it in for a long time. "Chadwick- I've seen Chadwick.", she revealed.
Gwen's eyes widened and she took a step back. Her voice was low, "On the plane?".
"On the plane! Right behind me! He had been behind me the entire time, Gwen!", the brunette cried and then pushed a hand on her mouth.
This caused Kevin to chime in; "Why didn't you say anything?".
"What were we going to do? Fight him? Oh, hello I am Ben. I'm not sure if you've heard but I am a girl now." she hushed her voice after another person came too close to their group.
"What was he doing on the plane?" asked Rook before Kevin could say anything.
"How should I know. For all I know he didn't know me. He didn't know it was me. For all he knows I was just some girl dressed like me."
"Yeah sure, with the Omnitrix on your wrist and with your partner by your side." Kevin remarked in a sardonic way, which was answered by a shocked look.
"You're saying he did know? But why would he keep silent? Why wouldn't he say anything to me?" Ben puzzled.
"He kept cover himself," Gwen concluded, "if he wasn't going on a vacation too. Which I doubt. He was there for a reason, I bet.".
Kevin interrupted her, "You could have told us Ben! Who knows what that psycho is planing and now he's gone! There's no way we'll find him here!".
"It is over." Rook sighed, "There is nothing we can do now."
A voice called from one of the speakers, announcing another flight.
"That's our plane." Gwen furrowed her brow "We'll speak about this later, much later." she eyed the other three people in the group, "We already have a lot of things to think about. Everything will be dealt with. Sooner or later. But first Ben," she looked into her eyes, "we have your problem to deal with. And the less people know about it, right now, the better it is for everyone.".
...
The first thing Ben went through after arriving at HQ was getting prodded and probed by Blukic and Driba. They declared that she was completely healthy; for a female human. Those news were not well received by Ben.
"I am not a woman!" she spat, staring down the Driba who hid behind his data-pad. "Do your tests again." she demanded. Even though Ben's rage was understandable, the direction it was aimed at was unjustified.
The Galvans defended themselves. They stated that their tests were perfect and there was nothing wrong with them. No, she could not bear this horrible truth. She left, storming out, not able to bear to hear anything anymore. Until the graveyard-shift started she was going to stay in her temporary lodgings. She was unable to endure the stares she thought were directed at her.
As she dropped on her bed she went through the messages she had received from her parents. It crossed her mind that it was quite strange, how she immediately told her grandfather but left them in the dark. She closed the phone and put it on the bed-stand. Her temporary accommodation oriented itself on the famous aesthetic of the ascetics. For a while this sound-proof room had been Rook's, but he got an apartment on earth roughly one year ago. It was Ben's suggestion, to get away from work, to relax a little. Rook had gotten through a rough time during that year. Her grandfather was somewhere else right now. He had given her some time off. Ben wished the silence was soothing or relaxing, but it made her just more antsy. This was her little solitary shell for her alone and it made her feel uneasy. Ben needed people around her. She couldn't stand the silence. The brunette needed action and danger and loud noises and bright colors! Not this barren wasteland of a room.
How was Rook ever able to stand it? Was Rook never lonely?
She was lonely. This was torture. The silence was killing her, as if she was smothered by a soft pillow. It was so easy to escape this. Just walk out and go to the bridge, or the common room, or she could check on the Proto-TRUK. They should have repaired it by now. She put a hand on her unfamiliar chest and repeated Driba's words in her mind over and over again. This was why she couldn't go out. Ben was trapped in a little flesh-prison and around it was another one made of steel.
This was probably the first time that Ben truly felt self conscious. It disgusted her how vulnerable and weak she felt. She saved the universe countless of times and should walk these halls with her head held high. But that wasn't even her head, was it? Whatever made Azmuth think that this was good for her?
As she drew a hand through her hair an impulse to cut her hair overcame her, which she followed. Ben looked feminine enough already, the hair had to be shorter. The brunette walked over to the bathroom and stepped in front of the basin. She found a pair of scissors. A left-over from Rook. One lock after another fell into the basin. Until she was satisfied with the new, more boyish length. But the breasts were still too big. Ben had developed an unhealthy animosity towards her new, alien body. And when she closed her eyes she still felt the weight.
She kept her bra on and bound her chest with the gauze. Another leftover, Rook must have forgotten it as he moved out, like so many other things he had forgotten. Ben sighed at the mirror. It wasn't what she had hoped for but it was better than nothing. Though, she had to admit that it seemed to restrict her breathing a little. But she guessed that, when she didn't exert herself too much, she'd be fine. And when she wore her hooded jacket she looked like her past, male, self. She zipped up and looked again at her mirror image. Close, but not cigar. Her face looked far too soft and smooth to her liking. But at least she looked better than she did before and she could finally step out of this cell. Maybe she was even going to call her parents. She opened the door, bumping into her grandfather who just went to see her.
"Ben, I have to talk with you.", he stated. There was worry on his face. His wrinkles were even deeper than usual.
She excused herself, "I swear I'm going to tell my parents about this today and go back to them tomorrow!".
Max raised his eyebrows, "This isn't why I'm here. Azmuth called me and told me that you have not answered any of his messages."
"Oh? Really? You mean the messages I keep deleting?".
The old man could make out the spite in her voice. Her grandfather furrowed his brow, "He has his reasons for acting the way he does." he stated.
Ben retorted without further prompt."If you were me you'd be mad too.". The brunette continued complaining, before the Magister could say anything else.
"Besides, he acts like this isn't a big deal. Everyone acts like this isn't a big deal!". Ben gestured to her chest and then crossed her arms.
"You've been in mode-lock before-" the older man threw in but was interrupted.
"This isn't just a mode-lock, grandpa! I'm not a boy anymore. I might have changed into different aliens before and they were different from humans. But this- this isn't like those times. I'm human but I am not me anymore. I'm not sure if you understand this. How can you? You're still you! You never were anyone else! You're not- trapped!".
Max was stunned silent. It seemed that for the first time in a long while he was at the loss of words. Ben looked down, simmering with left-over rage, before demanding to go back on patrol. She didn't like her prison. The brunette felt a large hand on her shoulder, which was oddly calming.
"I didn't think of it like this. It is a big change. I never intended for you to feel like a prisoner. If you're sure about going back, I can assign you and Rook back on patrol for tonight. I can find someone else for the midnight shift.".
Ben hugged her grandfather, "Thank you, Grandpa". Maybe if she distracted herself enough, she's forget for a moment her worries.
"Ah," he realized that he still wanted to show Ben something. "There's something I have to show you before you go out tonight. Follow me.".
...
Ben followed the Magister to his office. Once there he took a data-pad from his desk and showed it to Ben, who scrolled through the article. "People have gone missing for two weeks." she summarized, she had heard of it before, there was nothing new about it. The news weren't extensive, but they covered it.
"To be more precise, girls between the ages of nine to fourteen. All have been last seen in Undertown. All of them came from Bellwood. The only correlation is their gender and hometown.", Max informed her.
She scrolled through pictures of the missing children, stopping at a peculiar little girl, she looked to be about ten, but the age was shown as 14. But what really caused her to stop was the family-name and the father, Roderick Steel. She looked at her grandfather holding up the data-pad with the picture of the little girl. "That's Lt. Steel's daughter?", she inquired, obviously surprised.
The older man looked uncomfortable, before affirming her question. There was a pregnant pause before her grandfather started to speak again. "You know that Undertown is Plumber-territory. SECT will keep away from our jurisdiction and we from theirs." he took that data-pad from Ben and laid it back on the table.
Ben knew what that meant: Undertown is the Plumbers turf and SECT better keep away from it.
"I guess that girl was the last straw?". Her grandfather didn't say anything and just nodded. He didn't speak another word.
"Two weeks. It had been two weeks since the first girl had been abducted, and from then on every two days another girl. So far, seven little girls have gone missing and- where does that leave us?". There was a hidden accusation, two weeks and nobody told her. Two weeks and they just seemed to get serious about it after Steel requested their help.
Magister Tennyson sat down on his chair, "We've tightened security, no ship goes in or out without getting through us." he sighed and massaged his temple. He sounded tired. "Nothing. We've been asking around Undertown and we interviewed every criminal. Nothing. You're aware that there are still some tensions between humans and aliens?".
"Well, some tensions are there-" Ben admitted, averting her eyes. She didn't like this subject. Politics were not one of her strong suits.
Most extraterrestrials had been hired as workers by the Plumbers. There had been no plans on them staying for long. The Plumbers thought they'd go away again after repairing the damages. Instead they stayed, building a thriving city and mingling with the population. The people of Bellwood still had reservations towards the aliens. There were Cultural clashes. But there weren't open rallies against aliens. Yet there was some less obvious discrimination going on. Aliens in general were under represented and under educated. At the same time the crime rate in Undertown had been quite high in the recent times.
For Ben it was pretty clear that the Plumbers should have done more to integrate them into society. On the other hand the way most humans acted was antagonistic and discriminatory and not helping at all.
She returned to the topic at hand. "So, either someone once again escaped Plumber surveillance or they're still on earth.".
The older man sighed. "Again Ben, the Plumbers do anything to improve their security measures. Just keep looking out for anything suspicious when you're out there.", he suggested.
"I will do that grandpa." she turned around and left the office. Her walk to the bridge was brisk. Once on the bridge she zipped her hoodie up further and waited. Rook should be coming soon. Ben did her best to ignore the strange glances thrown at her left and right. All for the wrong reasons, she assumed.