A/N: Well, this story has been off to a great start. The traction that it's picked up has been insane, and I thank you all for that. Even if Fanfiction decided that it wanted to screw me over a bit by the site messing things up the moment I uploaded it. People didn't get notified when the second chapter was uploaded, and plus the traffic graph that counts the views the story has gotten was broken for about 4 days straight.

But now it's working again, and with any luck, there shouldn't be anymore shenanigans in that regard anymore.

One more thing. I've been asked it before, so I'll clarify here. I will update the story every week, but I may update early every once in a while. But a week is the longest you'll have to wait for a chapter until I hit the end of the chapters I've already written out. Just wanted to clarify that a bit more.

"I'm surprised you didn't take the test when I did," Ben said, taking a sip from his soda. The two of them were at the movies, upon Ben's insistence that he wanted to see the live action Sumo Slammers movie that came out a few weeks ago.

Not to mention it was a nice icebreaker from Ben giving every villain he met the message that they may as well be signing a death warrant if they didn't keep their sights focused on him and him alone. Seeing him happy was a nice change from that.

"I didn't see a reason to. I can teleport. I can fly with and without access to a plane. And when I need to drive, I can. I never really saw the point of getting one," Gwen said with a shrug, putting popcorn in her mouth.

"Just for the sense that if we were normal teenagers, we'd finally have the freedom to drive and go places without needing the help of our parents. You know. Before the arrival of the Highbreed shot a hole the size of Way Big in that plan," Ben said with a shrug.

"I see your point, but learning how to fly killed any desire for me to get a license. It's faster and feels freer. Driving just pollutes the world," Gwen said, waving her hand airily.

"It's so cute that you're worried about something as basic as pollution when Earth is one of the biggest alien criminal hotspots in the universe," Ben said in an amused tone.

"I'd like to think I can still focus on the smaller stuff despite what we deal with on a regular basis. I don't think you've read up on it, but..."

"Can you two shut it? I don't want to hear you talking during the movie!" one guy near them hissed.

"It hasn't even started yet!" Gwen and Ben snapped, glaring at the man at the interruption. His face immediately up with recognition when they turned around, and he immediately turned around in an embarrassed fashion.

"Oh, yeah. He would back down now that he sees that he might've pissed off Ben Tennyson," the male Anodite said with an eyeroll.

"Cause you're a well liked celebrity. No one can say anything bad about one of those," Gwen said with an eyeroll of her own. "Where were we?"

"Something about pollution," Ben reminded her.

"Right. Now..."

"Never mind. Now the movie's about to start," Ben interrupted, and Gwen nearly swore out of frustration. The other Tennyson could only smile apologetically. "Sorry. I know you hate being interrupted."

"I blame the douche sitting across from us more than you," Gwen said, her arms crossed in annoyance. Then she lowered her voice since the movie was technically starting, despite the previews that were being shown off beforehand. "Remind me why you wanted to see this movie again? You know, besides the fact the fact it's a Sumo Slammers movie?"

"It's the first live action one they've made," Ben said, an excitement in his voice that made Gwen smile. Then he pulled out a pair of glasses that came with their ticket. "Several high profile actors are taking part and it's in 3D."

"Here's hoping it's not part of the modern live action curse," Gwen said, putting her glasses on as Ben smiled wider.

"Here's hoping. And as a bonus, I'm seeing this with the best girl in the world," he said, reaching for her hand.

Suddenly there was a loud flash of a camera above them that made Ben freeze on the spot before gritting his teeth in frustration. The moment he turned around, he had to blink when another flash of light hit his eyes.

"Aw sweet. I was hoping I'd get a good picture. Thanks Ben Tennyson," the guy said with a smile, and Ben had an intense urge to punch him. But Gwen's hand on his arm kept in his seat.

"Just ignore him. You wanted to see this movie. Don't let anyone distract you," Gwen told him, and Ben sighed before putting on his glasses and facing forward.

"She's right. Just watch the movie," he thought to himself, blowing out a puff of breath.

Unfortunately, the problems didn't stop there.

Soon it became known to teenagers all over that the Ben Tennyson was in this movie theater. From that point on, people started walking in wanting autographs. Praising him for saving the world from aliens. Offering him food. Girls asking him on dates. It didn't take long for it to get to a point where Ben couldn't even enjoy the movie. Security eventually kicked the loud ones out, but by the time they did that, Ben missed almost a half hour of the movie. And it was obvious he was annoyed about it.

"I'm sorry," Gwen said, reaching out to put a hand over his, but Ben quickly moved it away.

"Someone might still have a camera. And don't be. I should've made a disguise or something. Probably should start making that a habit," he said bitterly before standing up. "I've missed the first portion of it. I don't even want to stay."

"You sure?" Gwen asked.

"I'm sure," Ben said, discarding the 3D glasses with an angry flick of the hand that he disintegrated with mana before walking out of the movie theater.

Commotion followed them all the way out of the movie theater, but Gwen had a vicious glare that would probably scare off a bloodthirsty dragon as she followed Ben. It certainly scared their followers off.

Ben sat down in the driver's seat of his car before proceeding to smack his forehead on his steering wheel several times over in frustration, the horn blaring loudly with every smack. Gwen got in, and put her hand on his shoulder to make him stop. But the persistent clicking of cameras outside caused him to continue again.

Gwen sighed before choosing to back off and just let him get it all out. Thankfully, he only persisted for a few more seconds.

"This. This is why the idea of fame didn't appeal to me," Ben said sourly, looking out of the window with a bitter look on his face. "I used to be able to go anywhere with you, and people wouldn't recognize us. No one knew we were related, and it's like we were any other couple. Now? If I don't pretend to be some imaginary guy who's dating Gwen Tennyson, we can't even see a damn movie without people swarming us, much less get any privacy."

"Ben, breathe," Gwen said, holding his hand while sharing her energy with him. Ben was glad to let the sensation wash over him, and the comfortable feel of mana relaxed him a bit, but it was obvious he was still very incensed.

"Are we really making a good decision here?" Ben said, directing his gaze over to Gwen.

"What do you mean?" she questioned.

"Keeping our relationship a secret. I know it was what we agreed on at least until you got out of college, but we didn't expect to become well known to the public during that time either," Ben said.

"If I'm being honest? I don't know. I mean, I expected the fame to be a problem, but not to this degree," Gwen said, glancing out of the window. Then she remembered what he said in the movie theater. "What about your disguise idea? You could just try that."

"I thought about it. And while I figure we won't get the full on manhunt that I usually get, you're still probably gonna get one," Ben brought up. "Cause what are the odds they'll leave you alone even if I wear a disguise? Especially when you're hanging out with a person they don't know, doing couple stuff?"

"Disgustingly little," Gwen said with a grimace. "They're like vultures. We'd have to wait for them to get bored, and who knows when that might happen."

"Exactly. So..." Ben blew out a puff of breath. "I had another idea, but you're probably not gonna like it."

"You want to tell everyone," Gwen said, not even phrasing it as a question. Ben nodded, and Gwen sighed. "How's that a much better solution? People knowing that we're dating each other won't make the publicity situation any better. In fact, there's a high chance it'll make it even worse. At least with the reporters."

"You're right. But it would solve some of our problems, and make this whole situation a bit more bearable. Even if it is a bit concerning when it comes to some people," Ben told her before sighing. "I don't like to think about how my parents would react if I told them. I don't think they had you in mind when I was told to find a nice girl to settle down with."

"You think your folks would flip out? Dad might be manageable, but I know mom's going to completely freak. You've met her side of the family before - the people she were raised around," Gwen said, staring out of the window despondently.

"Yes, but I don't think that would matter. Aunt Natalie loves you," Ben said.

"I know that. But that doesn't change the fact this is considered wrong to most people, and I know for a fact mom is in that particular camp. There's very little she could do to stop us in actuality, but I still want her to be happy for us," Gwen said, grabbing her cousin's hand. Then she smiled in a wry fashion. "Just look at us. Risking our lives is easier than relationship problems."

"Nothing about our lives is easy. We gave up on that after agreeing to become Plumbers in the first place," Ben said, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

"That doesn't make this idea any better. Because I'm definitely not ready to tell everyone," Gwen told him firmly. "Even you have to see that's being rash."

"Then at least meet me in the middle here. I can wait if I have to, but I would prefer to hold on to what sanity I have left in the meantime," Ben told her.

"And your idea of the middle is..."

"We tell our parents. They'd keep it a secret, so it wouldn't be too drastic of a change. Plus they could surprise us and take it better than we think," Ben said.

"Or they could do exactly what we feared, and freak out and try to do what they did when they found out we fought aliens. Again, they couldn't really stop us, but... ugh!" Gwen groaned, putting her hands over her face as she looked up at the roof of the car. "I keep going in circles!"

"That's why I feel like we can at least tell them. Because lets face it. They're going to have to find at some point. And I feel like how Aunt Natalie reacts in the next day or the next decade won't be that much different, which is what I know you're really worried about. I just think it would be better to bite the bullet now and tell them so we at least don't have to pretend while we're at home too," Ben explained. "That's all I'm asking."

"There's a lot of 'ifs' on this," Gwen said before closing her eyes, a sigh leaving her lips. "But you're right. We should tell them. And being able to confide in more people about this would be nice. It's just..."

"...scary, I know. But it does us no good to delay something we're going to have to face somewhere down the line. Especially when our options are either limited or extremely unattractive," Ben said.

"Then... when do you think it's a good idea?" Gwen asked. She looked calm on the outside, but Ben could tell she was nervous.

"Today, but not until later tonight. If things go south, we can at least sleep it off. Plus I'd like to wait until I get back from my video game scan," Ben told her.

"You did tell me about that. They give you any specifics on what kind of game it's going to be?" Gwen asked, glad for the change in subject she knew it was.

"No, not yet. But whatever it is, I can at least give them some good material," Ben said, a genuine smile making its way onto his face. "Just hope they give me a sturdy room to work with."

"Sturdy? More like indestructible," Gwen said with a small smile of her own. "I'm coming along."

"Then that settles it. I have to show off as much as possible," Ben said with a grin as he shifted the car out of neutral.

"Imagine it: An action-adventure game telling a never before heard story of yours truly," Ben said with a wide smile, one hand on the wheel and the other holding a smoothie aloft.

"Yeah, yeah. You just care about the fact that you'll be getting a fat paycheck for this," Gwen said with a roll of her eyes, sipping her smoothie.

"That's just a bonus. I'm starring in my very own video game! It's one thing I'm getting from my fame that actually sounds awesome!" Ben said excitedly before stopping at a red light.

"Just hope it doesn't turn out to be a series of games that start out good and then get progressively worse and worse in order to set up a dozen more sequels," Gwen said, making her cousin wince.

"Ugh. That's a really good point," Ben said before shrugging. "I'll pop in every so often - see how the game looks. If I'm not happy with it, I can halt production. Hard to get a game to sell when the person that it's about doesn't even like it. And I would make that very known."

"Using your fame to your advantage? My my, is this really Ben Tennyson I know?" Gwen said with a raised brow. But she was grinning.

"You want to find out?" Ben said with a devious looking smirk. It disappeared the moment he heard something large coming up from behind them. "Oh, for the love of..."

"Want me to take the wheel?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah. I'll handle whatever's behind us," Ben said before unlocking his seatbelt and flying out of the window.

Standing behind them was a giant robot on four legs. Its red eye focused on Ben's car before looking dead at the owner himself once he got out.

"Never seen one of you before," he said aloud.

The robot's response was to fire a laser out of its chestplate that Ben raised a shield against in order to block. The laser itself had a lot less power than he had expected. It was still strong, but it probably wouldn't do much more than ruin his car's paint job.

"Then again, I'm the one who has to reapply it. Now I'm starting to understand Kevin's struggle," Ben thought before lowering his shield and firing a mana blast that immediately destroyed the cannon. Despite the reflector that was raised in front of it to deflect it.

"What was that?!" Will Harangue questioned.

"I don't know! He mentioned that he could fire lasers without transforming, but the reflection unit didn't work," Oliver Thompson said, typing on the computer in order to command the robot to retreat.

"What are you doing?" Harangue asked.

"Calling it back. It's clearly not ready. If we let the robot stay, then it'll just get demolished, and we'll be back to square one," Thompson insisted, and Will grudgingly agreed.

Ben couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when he saw the robot quickly stalk away as soon as he destroyed the laser. Never before had a killer robot walked away the moment it lost a laser.

"It must've really liked that laser," Ben said idly as Gwen pulled up next to him.

"That didn't take long," she said, leaning out of the window.

"Not at all. It looked like it was only aiming for my car and me, so it was definitely made with the sole purpose of attacking me," Ben said.

"Which means whoever ordered it on you brought it back because it wasn't ready. It'll be back for you," Gwen concluded.

"And it will just get destroyed. Its weapons aren't even half as deadly as most of the stuff we've had to deal with, and the armor doesn't look super sturdy. It seems like an amateur design at best, and it only wants to attack me, so I'm not really worried about it. I've got bigger issues than some dollar store robot trying to kill me," Ben said with a frown. The he looked worried. "Namely..."

"Right," Gwen said, linking her fingers together. They agreed to tell their parents that they were dating, and it was starting to get dark. "You want to tell them together? If so, I think we should tell mine first."

"No, I think it's better if we do it separately. I think it'll be easier on them that way. Plus the moment we tell them, they're going to want to tell the other's parents - if nothing more than make sure we both get yelled at," Ben said, a wry smile making its way onto his face. "Remember what happened when my mom found out you helped me fight aliens?"

"Do I. My ears were ringing after they got done yelling at me," Gwen said.

"I think we should give them some time to talk about it after telling them. In the end, I'm sure they'll accept it. They might fight tooth and nail in the process of doing so, but they will," Ben said with a reassuring smile.

"I hope so. They've accepted a lot of things from us, and some of those things were pretty difficult for them. But what if they don't accept this?" Gwen said, staring at the steering wheel blankly. Ben knew she wasn't looking for reassurance. She wanted an answer for a possible outcome.

"Well... we'll have Grandpa Max, Grandma Verdona, and Kevin. And of course, each other," Ben said, putting a hand on hers. Gwen smiled nervously before nodding. "So we won't be alone - even if things go south."

"No. I suppose we won't be," she said.

"Have fun," Ben said as Gwen unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Fun? Yeah right," Gwen said before giving him a kiss on the lips. "See you tomorrow. That is, if my mom doesn't try and ban me from seeing you ever again."

"Will you listen?" Ben asked.

"No way," Gwen said, shaking her head.

"Then you'll see me tomorrow," Ben said with a smile as Gwen slipped out of the driver's seat so he could take her place.

"Yeah. I will," Gwen said, her expression turning worried as she looked back at her house.

"Hey," Ben said, getting her attention. "Aunt Natalie loves you for better or worse. She proved it when Verdona first stopped by, and she'll prove it now. Things might not go well off the bat, but it'll work itself out."

"Maybe. But I still can't help but worry," Gwen said before steeling herself. "I'll go ahead and go inside before I convince myself to chicken out."

"Good luck," Ben said before driving off.

"I'll need it," Gwen thought before unlocking the door with a quick bolt of mana. "Mom? Dad?"

"In the living room, honey. And you might want to see this," Natalie said in an unhappy tone.

Gwen winced. It was horrible timing for her to be in a bad mood considering what she wanted to tell her.

Nevertheless, she joined her parents in the living room and looked at the TV. The channel was on Will Harangue's show, and Gwen felt her mood drop even more just looking at the guy.

"Tonight on the Harangue Nation, we have exclusive footage of Ben 10's latest rampage," Harangue said before shifting footage to the area they fought the robot. Wasn't even that much damage - just the holes the robot left in the concrete from walking and the remains of its destroyed laser.

"We were just there. We were attacked by some kind of robot," Gwen said in response to her parents' questioning looks.

"This carnage is typical of the destruction he leaves everywhere he goes. Well, I say it's time to stop him," Harangue said before looking to the side. "I've spent 14 million dollars of my own money to make sure that the menace of Ben 10 is stopped."

The pieces clicked together in the worst possible way. A new robot they had never seen before, Ben mentioning weaker weaponry - Earth weaponry most likely... No. There was no way this could be a coincidence.

"You... You son of a..." Gwen growled, raising a glowing hand. Frank had to actually hold his daughter's arm to stop her from blasting the TV.

"Gwen! Gwen, honey," he said quickly, pulling Gwen's hand down. "Calm down sweetie."

"Calming down is an impossibility when I just learned that some crazed news anchor just spent money for the creation of a robot specifically designed to kill Ben, and then tried to blame him for the damage that he left behind," Gwen said angrily, the glow on her fist slowly fading.

"Why would he admit that on national television?" Natalie asked with a raised brow.

"I guess he thought Ben wouldn't watch his show, considering he does nothing but talk bad about him. I think I finally get why Ben bothered watching Harangue in the first place," Gwen said before calming down. "Don't worry. He tries something again, which I'm sure he will, I'll be all too glad to slap the cuffs on him."

"Can you do that?" Frank asked.

"Plumbers are intergalactic police. We have authority on every planet in the Milky Way galaxy. That includes Earth. So even though our authority mostly involves aliens, we have a little bit of authority when it comes to human crimes," Gwen said, crossing her arms.

"Well, I was going to suggest that Ben deal with him in a more legal fashion given how the things he's saying are probably grounds for defamation, but your solution better," Natalie said.

"Shame. I would've at least charged Ben a fair rate," Frank said with a shrug.

"I'm sure he would've appreciated that," Gwen said, a small laugh making its way out before she cleared her throat. "But Harangue can wait for now. I don't think he'll try anything else today. There's something important I need to tell the both of you."

"Of course. You can tell us anything Gwen," Natalie assured her daughter. Gwen bit her lip before there was a flash of pink light, and a photo was in her hands.

"I never showed either of you this picture," she said, handing the photo over to her parents.

The both of them looked at the picture, and it was of Gwen's freshman dance. One they hadn't seen before today.

The picture was of her and Ben in the middle of a slow dance, which in of itself, wasn't very notable.

But the expressions on their faces said something a bit different. Both cousins of them looked content with each other, gentle smiles on their faces. It looked... intimate. Or maybe they were just reading that wrong.

"No. The only pictures we have were the ones we took before you went to your prom," Frank said slowly, unsure what to make of what to make of her words.

"That's cause Grandma Verdona only gave me, Ben, and Grandpa a copy, and I never had it copied or framed in anyway. Grandpa didn't think much of it, and I'm not sure how Ben felt about it at the time, but I could never figure out the jumble of emotions that hit me when I looked at it."

Her parents were giving her strange looks, but Gwen had no intention on stopping now. Even though there was still a lingering feeling of nervousness in her stomach, it was now much easier for her to keep talking.

"When I look back to the day of the dance, I remembered feeling happy. But at the same time, there were moments when I had butterflies in my stomach," Gwen said before making the photo disappear. "Could you consider any of those feelings normal when you're thinking about the time you danced with your cousin?"

"Where are you going with this?" Natalie asked, getting a very foreboding feeling.

Gwen sighed before wringing her hands nervously behind her back. They were going to make her spell it out. She had expected that.

"I love him," Gwen said gently.

Both her parents went stock still, but Gwen felt a little better after finally managing to admit that to the people she was the most worried about telling. Even though there was still the matter of what they were going to say. And that made the nervousness return ten fold.

"Gwen, do you just mean..."

"I don't mean as a family member," Gwen interrupted gently. "It's more than that. I love him like the way like mom loves you. Like Aunt Sandra loves Uncle Carl."

"How do you know?" Natalie said abruptly, which startled Gwen a little. "You may be old for your age, but you're still sixteen."

"Believe me mom. I just know," Gwen said, still speaking in a soft tone. "I know this is a lot to take in..."

"Believe me, I went through plenty of phases when I was your age." Natalie continued as if Gwen hadn't spoken. "Something about having a thing for bad boys. People that I eventually learned weren't good for me."

"Ben is," Gwen said simply.

"He's your cousin," Natalie said with a stern look.

"I know that," Gwen said evenly, trying hard to keep herself from snapping. Obviously she knew that. "And I don't care. I love him."

"It's a phase that'll you'll grow out of," Natalie assured her daughter.

"This isn't a phase. If I need to repeat myself, I will. I. Love. Him," Gwen said firmly, emphasizing her words as much as she could. Her mother was going to understand that even if it took all night.

"How? How could someone as young as you are possibly know that?" Natalie asked, giving her daughter a piercing stare. Gwen rose to meet that stare when she normally would've backed down from it.

"For one, I never decided to date even though I was interested in the idea a few times. There were plenty of boys that were either cute, smart, or talented. Maybe even a mix of two or all three. And they would ask me out, I could like them well enough, and would still say no despite all those positives. Emily always joked that no guy was good enough for me, and I always laughed it off, but truthfully? I never knew why I always saying no."

"School wasn't the problem. A lack of attraction wasn't the problem. I've thought about dating a nice boy several times, so interest wasn't the problem. At some point, I thought I was the problem. That somewhere deep down, I did think I was too good for other boys. That I needed to change."

"Then, I spent a day with Ben when we didn't have to worry about aliens. We went over old memories. We danced. And then when we stood there and he held me, I..." Gwen paused before shaking her head, a smile making her way onto her face. "I realized how utterly screwed I was. I never, ever felt like I had when I was near any other guy."

"Gwen..." Natalie trailed, but her daughter had no plans to stop. And she was going to keep everything as straightforward as possible.

"You want to know how I know I love him? I know because no other boy makes me feel like he does. I know because I nearly gave up everything for him," Gwen continued, her eyes burning bright. "If it would've saved his life, I would've given up everything that made me who I am. If he got to live and wouldn't suffer Vilgax's evil actions again, I would have. There's nothing I wouldn't do to help him. And I've known for a long time now that he would do the same for me. Now you sit there and tell me that's not love."

Gwen looked at her mother with a serious look on her face, her hands clenched at her sides. Suddenly the hardest part wasn't telling her, but getting her to believe it. Because there was no way this feeling residing in her was some sort of phase.

Natalie knew Gwen meant the words she said, and it wasn't just because she hardly ever lied to her parents in the first place. It was the sureness, the conviction... the adoration in her tone. Adoration she knew she had for Frank. Conviction that scarily reminded Natalie of herself, because her mother certainly hadn't been the biggest fan of him. Maybe history was doomed to repeat itself.

"I believe you," Natalie said in a whisper before gripping her hair and looking down at the floor.

"I know it's not what you would've expected..."

"Maybe we should've," Frank suddenly said, causing Gwen to snap her head to him. He was dead silent up until now. "Aside from Emily, Ben's the only person you ever brought around here since your summer together. He was the one you always hung out with. He was the one you always talked about. If you talked about any other boy the way you talked about Ben, I think we would've assumed you liked him before."

"But he's my cousin. No one would've expected for things to take a turn like they did. I didn't," Gwen said before turning to her mother, who was still looking down at the floor. "Mom?"

"I want to be happy for you Gwen," Natalie said, sounding more exhausted than Gwen had ever heard her. Then she slowly raised her head. "Really, I do. But then there's the fact that I was raised by people who believed in etiquette and social norms. People who believed that nothing like this should be allowed. And I agreed with most of those things."

"Natalie, you don't mean that..."

"Of course I don't! I love our daughter more than anything," Natalie said before clear frustration entered her tone. "But it's hard to think about my daughter being in a relationship with her own cousin. That one day, Ben might be my son-in-law. It's just that... everything that comes with the idea of that..."

"Could you imagine bringing Gwen around my family with Ben being her date? They all know Ben. And they love Gwen. They're beautiful children. Children that will be looked down upon all their life because of who they're dating. Never mind that they're both selfless and give up so many hours of their life protecting innocent people."

"And that's the reason it's been so hard for us to tell... well, anyone," Gwen admitted. "But after something that happened at the movie theater, Ben convinced me that we should at least tell you two, Aunt Sandra, and Uncle Carl."

"'Us?' So, you've already confessed to him?" Sandra questioned, getting a sinking feeling in her stomach once again.

"Well, he confessed to me first technically, but yeah. We've been dating for over a year," Gwen admitted.

"A year?!" Natalie and Frank exclaimed, making Gwen wince before giving them a nervous smile.

"Surprise?" the Anodite said, spreading her hands out awkwardly. Natalie sighed before rubbing her temples.

"Surprise indeed," the woman muttered before giving her daughter a serious look. "How long do you expect to hide this?"

"From the rest of the world? I was at least hoping until after college," Gwen said.

"Including high school, that's almost six years at a minimum. Exactly how long you two have been dating?" Frank asked.

"Er... about a month before the end of freshman year," Gwen said.

"So you expect Ben to be ok with dating you, and only being able to show affection behind closed doors for at least six years?" Frank asked in an incredulous tone. "That'll never work."

"How do you know?" Gwen asked, causing her father to smile. Briefly, but it was still a smile.

"Honey, let me tell you a little secret about Tennyson men when it comes to their women: They are not patient, and very territorial," Frank told her with a shake of the head. "Your Uncle Carl can attest to that."

"What does he have to do with this?" Gwen questioned.

"He broke a guy's nose when he wouldn't stop flirting with Sandra," Frank said, a grin splitting his face at the memory. "Ben might be a little more calm about something like that, but when that one guy comes sniffing around you while he's frustrated, he will pull a Tennyson."

"I can believe it," Gwen said with a groan. "He did something similar even before we started dating."

"I'm sure when Carl gets over the shock, he'll be proud of his son for continuing to the tradition," Frank said in an amused tone.

"Of being boneheads, maybe," Natalie said with a roll of the eyes before looking at her daughter. She was still serious despite the brief moment of levity. "Are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into?"

"I've thought about it more than you might think. I definitely know. It's going to be problematic, but... he's worth it," Gwen said with a nod. "I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be with."

"I know that tone," Natalie said with a sigh. "Definitely isn't a phase."

"No. It isn't," Gwen said, unsuccessfully trying to hide her disappointment. She expected her mother to not like this news, but it was still a bit disheartening to know that she wasn't happy for her. And Natalie had noticed.

"Gwen, honey... it's just..." Natalie trailed.

"I know. I get it. I'm just gonna..." Gwen was too unenthused to even give a flimsy excuse, so she just walked up the stairs without a word.

"This is going to cause problems," Natalie said, rubbing her temples.

"Yes it will," Frank agreed.

"Gwen is dating Ben."

"Has been for over a year."

"She's in love with him."

"That's what she told us."

"Frank, she might marry him."

"She might."

"She's his cousin."

"Something tells me Gwen is past caring about that detail."

"Frank, this is serious!" Natalie exclaimed, looking agitated by her husband's nonchalance.

"What exactly can I say, Natalie? They're serious about this decision to date each other, and you know as well as I do that they didn't make it lightly. It's something that we're going to have to learn to accept. Like Carl and Sandra had to accept Ben's... unique problem," Frank said, a hand resting on his forehead.

"How is it you've come to terms with this so fast?" Natalie questioned, looking at her husband almost resentfully. "Your nephew has been kissing and holding hands with your daughter for over a year. That doesn't bother you in the least bit?"

"It's not something I like to think about, if you must know," Frank said, fixing a stern glare onto his wife. Something that always got her to back off considering how rarely he looked at her like that. "But by nature of me being a lawyer, I have to look at the bigger picture here."

"It doesn't matter what either of our reservations about the situation are. I am taking Gwen at her word when she says that loves him, and you don't have to try very hard to convince me that Ben does too. One conversation with him about Gwen would likely tell me all that I need to know. There's nothing I can do about that other than try to set them up with other people or try and break them apart, and I wouldn't dare do that to them. I doubt it would work even if I tried it anyway. Besides, if we ever tried to push Gwen away from Ben, it would just make things worse for everyone involved. So the best either of us can do is suck it up."

"I was always hoping Gwen would find happiness with a wonderful man, despite all of this alien fighting business. She's a hero and an exceptionally bright child with a big future ahead of her. It's just... why did that kind of happiness have to come from inside of the family?" Natalie questioned.

"Why'd dad marry an alien? Why does anyone get married, have kids, or fall in love with people despite any obstacles or problems? It's just because they love them that much. It may not be logical. It may not make sense. They may have better options. It may not even be right according to other people. But it's what they want," Frank explained with a shrug.

"They're going to have a long road ahead of them," Natalie said in a despondent tone, causing Frank to put a comforting arm around his wife.

"But they can handle it. Tennysons take the world head on and come out on top. It's just what we do," he assured her.

"So... you and Gwen?" Carl said with Sandra's head in his lap. She passed out after Ben told them that he and Gwen were dating.

"Yup," Ben said, his head leaning on his right fist with his arm standing upright on the armrest.

"You know, I expected you to get a girl that could match you blow for blow, but I never expected... Gwen."

"Neither did I," Ben said before smiling gently. "But I wouldn't pick anyone else if you gave me a choice out of every other woman in the world."

"You love her," Carl said in a tone that Ben recognized as his 'knowing' tone. "I sounded the same way back before me and Sandra got married."

"Honestly, it's hard not to," Ben said, smiling briefly before he looked out of the window. "But the rest of the world doesn't know that."

"Gwen?" Carl asked.

"Both of us actually. But I insisted we push to tell you guys after a bad time in a movie theater," Ben said, his lips forming into a frown.

"I'd imagine it's frustrating. To be head over heels for someone, but you can't say a word about it because people wouldn't like it," Carl said, causing Ben to nod. "How many people know?"

"Three, before I told you and mom. Grandpa, grandma, and Kevin. Gwen's telling, or probably already told her parents by now," Ben told him.

"Why not us?" Carl asked, sounding slightly upset. Ben bit his lower lip guiltily.

"Well, we were both worried as to how you would react. It wasn't exactly something that's everyday news. Plus, Verdona and Kevin only know because they figured it out even before me and Gwen did. Then Grandpa Max found out by circumstance. You were the first people we actively told," he told his dad.

"That makes sense," Carl said with a nod.

"So..." Ben trailed.

"So what?" Carl asked.

"What do you think about... us?" Ben asked, sounding slightly nervous as he made eye contact with his dad.

"Needless to say, this isn't what I expected. But so was the whole situation with you being an Anodite. And then your alien crime fighting on top of that. But I think out of all three, this'll be the easiest to adjust to. Despite how strange it's going to be," Carl said with a reassuring smile that made Ben feel ten times better. He was expecting this conversation to turn out way worse. "Hope you've enjoyed your break. Because I can guarantee you Sandra is going to ask way more questions than I ever could."

He said this statement because the woman in question was finally stirring in his lap.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Ben said with a sigh.

"That turned out to be easier than I thought," Ben said. Both him and Gwen sitting on the top of a building, sitting on the edge while looking out at the city. . Thankfully, most bothersome fans didn't own a helicopter.

"Speak for yourself. It may have seemed like my parents accepted the idea, but I know there's going to be some change in the way they act around me. Especially with my mom," Gwen said, a blank expression on her face.

"We expected that. I mean, we basically just told them that they could look forward to a wedding between two family members. If that isn't beyond awkward to think about, I don't know what is," Ben said.

"Wedding?" Gwen questioned, turning to her boyfriend with a curious expression. Ben blanched fairly quickly.

"T-that's not going to be any time soon! God no. We could barely even tell our parents, for goodness sake. That day's gonna be far off. Very far off," he insisted vehemently.

"Relax, Ben," Gwen said with a laugh. "You acted as if I was going to take it as a proposal. But I figured it make you squirm."

"I hate you," Ben muttered moodily, and Gwen only grinned before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Love you," she said.

"You just live to make things harder for me, don't you?" Ben said with a shake of the head.

"You know you love it," Gwen said with a wide smile. Then it was quickly replaced with a frown. "Speaking of making things harder..."

"What problem do we have now?" Ben asked with a groan.

"Will Harangue," Gwen said.

"Him? That's not a problem. That's an annoyance," Ben said with a roll of the eyes. "He's just been spewing crap about me all over his show. Nothing super serious."

"This is different. That robot that came after us when we were driving around? He funded it," Gwen said, causing Ben's eyes to narrow to slits.

"He did what?" he said with ice in his tone.

"I see I have your attention now. Good. He admitted on public TV that he put millions of dollars into a project in order to make it happen. Little too convenient when we had been attacked just a few minutes prior to that, don't you think?" Gwen said with a sardonic smile. "Plus you mentioned weaker weaponry - likely Earth weaponry."

"When I get my hands on him, I'm gonna..." Ben stopped when Gwen put a finger on his mouth to stop him from talking.

"Don't go after him yet. I got a way to ruin him that's going to going to be a lot more satisfying," she said, her grin stretching into one that really made her look devilish.

"I'm listening..." Ben trailed, his interest peaked.

"You know, it's a sad state of affairs when I'm just now finding out you the two got attacked by Ben's lead smear campaigner," Kevin said with a pointed look.

"I said I was sorry. Yesterday was just kind of an 'us' day," Gwen apologized. "Plus it ran off after Ben smashed one weapon. Didn't think it was a big deal."

"Guess not. I'd probably do something similar," Kevin said before looking around the area they were in. "Anyway, you sure Harangue's gonna to show up? He might not like fighting in a place where he can't write it off as 'senseless destruction and violence.' We're in the middle of nowhere."

"He'll show. I'm sure he will," Gwen said before taking a karate stance. "We may as well have some fun before he shows up."

"That's your idea of fun? Darn," Ben joked with a snap of the fingers, making Gwen hit him on the arm. Hard too. "Ow."

"You're such a boy," she said with a roll of the eyes.

"Mmm-hmm," Ben said in a teasing tone before pulling her into a kiss.

"Don't you dare. Not while I'm around," Kevin said with a grimace.

"We're not," Gwen insisted before pushing Ben back. "I'm not letting Harangue of all people to be the one to find out that we're dating."

"Ugh. Not only is that a good point, but it also doubles as a mood killer," Ben said with a disgusted expression.

"You're welcome. Now down boy. There's plenty of time for that later," Gwen said, smirking when she saw him quickly look at her.

"You are equal parts hot and frustrating, you know that?" Ben grumbled.

"Thank you," Gwen said, looking absolutely mischievous. "I do my best to please."

"If you would mind..." Kevin said loudly, making Ben laugh and Gwen give him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry Kevin," she said.

"I blame him more than you," Kevin said with an accusatory point in Ben's direction, making the Anodite snicker.

"Sorry about that," Ben said with a sheepish grin.

"It's a bit better than the original alternative,'" Kevin told him.

The original alternative was Ben jumping out of guilt every time Kevin was in line of sight. That had gotten annoying fast.

"Yeah, that sure was..." Ben cut himself off before he suddenly stood to his feet. "I hear something."

"Same. It's coming from..." Gwen trailed before looking up. "The sky!"

All three of them dived out of the way of the incoming red robot, recovering smoothly as they rose to their feet with a fighting stance.

"Finally shown up, have you Harangue?" Ben questioned with distaste in his tone.

"So you figured it out, huh?" Harangue's voice said before his face appeared on the robot in black and white.

"Ugh. It was easier to look at when it didn't have your face stamped on it," Ben said with a disgusted look.

"Let's see if it'll look better after I stomp you into the dirt, Tennyson," Harangue said before firing a laser into the dirt that Ben easily dodged.

"Yeah, I don't think so. You're done wasting my time. Way Big!" Ben exclaimed before transforming into the extremely tall alien. Then he picked up the robot like it was nothing but a small toy.

"Put me down!" Harangue exclaimed.

"You didn't say please," Way Big said before crushing it between two fingers. Then he turned back to normal. "You get it?"

"Lemme see..." Kevin trailed, looking back at the camera he set up on his car. "Yup. Footage is here. Now what?"

"Now we handle it the way Harangue can't write off. The legal way," Gwen said with a smile.

"There's going to be nothing left of that robot," Thompson said.

"I know. But there's always next time. I'm not going to stop trying to take him down," Harangue said, tightening a fist. He turned around when heard the door to his studio slam open.

"Yes you are," Ben said, his expression serious. Then his gaze traveled to Harangue's partner, who immediately flinched from fear. "Hello Mr. Thompson. Haven't seen you since the video game scan. Thank you for managing to get me excited for nothing."

"Tennyson. Here to exact some heinous crime against me? I'm sure the public will just love that," Harangue said with a smirk.

"No. He's going to exact some perfectly legal justice," Gwen emphasized before smiling at the officers that walked in with Kevin. "Officers? Those are your two perpetrators."

Ben smirked. He didn't think he saw someone blanch as fast as Thompson did right then.

"Perpetrators? I've done nothing wrong!" Harangue said before pointing at a smirking Ben Tennyson. "That's the one you should be arresting!"

"You're so full of shit, your eyes are brown, you know that?" Kevin said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Even if you didn't attack two members of one of our highest ranking government authorities, there's no denying you willingly funded the construction of a robot in hopes of severely injuring or killing a minor. Your admission to funding it is on live television, and your voice is in the recording that they handed over to us as evidence," the officer said.

"And I'm not sure if you knew this, but that's kinda against the law," Ben said with a grin that could rival the Joker as he twirled a pair of handcuffs with one finger. "And you're being brought in due to destruction of public property and attempted murder. You'll be locked away for a while."

"He's just doing this to shut down my show!" Will exclaimed.

"That may be, but I've seen your show. He could've brought you up with defamation of character a long time ago and used his influence to made sure it went somewhere, but he didn't," the officer told him.

"I never cared what you said about me. Anything you said about me didn't matter, so I could brush it off no problem. But you made it personal when you attacked me," Ben said, all traces of humor gone as he approached Will. His eyes were like jade colored chips of ice, and even Harangue took a step back from the look in his eyes. "If it wasn't for the fact that you are absolutely pathetic compared to the things I've seen and the people I've fought, I'd let you know exactly what I do to people who mess with me. Now are you going to come quietly, or am I going to have to take you in by force?"

Will pushed his chair towards Ben in an attempt to trip him up, but the Anodite easily dodged the incoming chair before kicking him in the face to knock him to the floor. Holding Will's head to the floor by pressing his foot down on it, Ben attached the handcuffs to his wrists. He made sure to make them tight as humanly possible without drawing blood.

"I'll get you for this Tennyson!" Will exclaimed, his voice filled with vitriol.

"If you get out, that is. And by then, you will have no fans and no career to return to. Oh yes. I quiver with fear," Ben said with a smirk as he forced the man to his feet.

Will only growled at the teenager before the first officer started escorting the reporter out of the room. The second officer then looked at Will's partner Thompson, who looked even more scared when Kevin approached him.

"What about this guy?" the Osmosian asked, causing the officers to look at each other.

"We'll take him in for questioning to find out the extent of his involvement. We'll send other officers here later in order to investigate this place for evidence," the first officer said.

"You think you've won Tennyson? When my lawyer gets me out, you'll regret this," Harangue growled at him.

"Lawyers can only help you when you have a remotely good argument, and there's plenty of evidence to lock you away. Plus I doubt anyone's going to let you get away with attacking the most popular teenager on the planet. You won't be seeing anything but prison walls, Harangue," Gwen said with a sweet smile that was Big Chill levels of sinister. Ben loved it.

"These kids may not like you, but they handled their dislike of you a thousand times better. And regardless of his methods that he uses to fight crime, that's something I can always respect. Now let's get going," the first officer said gruffly, making Ben smile as they walked out.

"So?" Gwen asked once they walked out of the room.

"You were totally right. That was very satisfying," Ben said with a wide grin. "He probably thought he was untouchable."

"Let's see. He funds millions of dollars in attempting to kill one guy on public television. On top of that, that guy happens to be an officer of an intergalactic police force, known for fighting aliens for a living, and has friends who do the same thing," Kevin said before shaking his head. "It's official. He is now at the head of our dumbest bad guys list."

"Well, we won't have to worry about him any time in the foreseeable future," Ben said before smiling widely. "Well, that's one annoyance down. What's next?"

A/N: The fact that Harangue was never addressed after he literally attacked Ben with a giant robot was stupid beyond belief. He should've never been allowed to roam free after that, much less still have a platform to continue a smear campaign against the most popular celebrity on the planet. I decided to fix that, and get rid of him right off the bat.

Another thing. There's nothing suggesting that the robot Harangue commissioned was made with any kind of alien technology. And no one can convince me that Earth could make a robot that could match most of Ben's powerset. The extension of the strides they've made has been minor laser weaponry, and in my head canon, the shielding made for the Orion that I said was made from it. There isn't a mirror they could make that's reflecting a mana beam from a well trained Anodite, so video game scan or not, the robot has no chance. No point in even making it a fight.

And lastly, the whole part with Ben and Gwen telling their parents that they're dating. I never planned on making that whole situation a super long plot point, since I didn't want to have them hide the fact that they were dating for a super long time. As for when they go public, I'll leave that to your imaginations as to when I might drop it. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!