(A/N: I hope you guys are ready for this. This is where she finally gets a new name. That of course won't be until closer to the middle of the chapter and let's just say there are going to be a lot of unexpected twists.

This takes place after "Back with a Vengeance", but at least a week or two before the events of "Ben 10,000". The very few of you who stuck with me and this story from the beginning are in for it. I hope you're excited because I know I am.)

U-Y-U~I~U-Y-U

Ben, Gwen, and Max visited her every chance they could for the past two weeks. It was difficult at times because they had to battle a number of foes ranging from Dr. Amino and his mutant animals to Kevin Levin and Vilgax, both of whom were trapped in the Null Void.

There were times where they were worried about how long she would be there. That is until they got a call from the hospital one day with some good news. She was going to be released.

They arrived the day after they got the call and went up to her room. When they stepped inside they saw her standing under her own power. It was the first time they saw her stand since the incident at the school and she looked much stronger than how she was then.

She was changing out of the hospital gown into a gray sweatshirt and pants. She was fresh out of the shower based on her damp hair. The bruises that once plagued her skin were all but gone.

Now that her hair was clean and brushed it started to have a wavy appearance. Her dark hair complemented her pale skin and caused her eyes to shine beautifully.

"Hey, we heard you're getting released!" Gwen chirped.

She nodded, "I'm getting out today."

Dr. Nawrocki suddenly walked in with his clipboard, he looked very surprised to see them there, "Oh! Hello, again. I was just about to have her sign the release form."

"I thought only a legal guardian could sign out a minor?" Max questioned.

"In this case, because she has no known legal guardian, she has to sign the form," he explained. She signed the document and he started to leave the room.

Gwen stopped him when she asked, "Wait, doctor, what's going to happen to her?"

"We'll have to call child services and they'll have her placed in foster care," he answered.

"With all due respect, Dr. Nawrocki, I don't think that's the best idea for her," Max voiced his thoughts.

"Listen, I know all of you are concerned for her wellbeing, but this is the first time I've ever had a case such as hers, I'm just doing what I'm most familiar with," he said.

It was a sad thing to hear, especially all they have been through with her. At first, what they saw in her was the bad side, but in the past couple of weeks they began to see her for the good in her.

Then, Ben perked up, "Hey, why don't we take her?"

"Ben-" Max started, but his grandson cut him off.

"Grandpa, there's no one else in the entire world that knows her better than we do. After everything we've been through and after everything she's been through, would it really be a good idea to put her at risk to go through the same thing she went through before us?" he pointed out.

"Grandpa, as much as I hate to admit it, Ben has a point," Gwen agreed. "We don't know what could happen to her if she's in a foster home. Once she's there, she's at their mercy."

He had to agree with his grandchildren, she might have powers, but if she uses her powers in a foster home, the outcome could be cataclysmic. There was a good chance that she would right back in the same place she was in before. It happens to many children and many of those children may not make it out with their lives.

Dr. Nawrocki thought about this for a moment and made a decision, "Alright, she can go with you."

Ben and Gwen lit up and grinned from ear to ear as they asked in unison, "For real?"

He nodded and said to Max, "Come on, we'll sign some paperwork."

"Can I trust you two to behave while I'm gone?" he asked.

They grinned and wrapped arms around each other's shoulders. They chirped in unison, "Yes!" He raised an eyebrow, but then left.

They turned excitedly to her, she was sitting on the bed and fully dressed, save for her bare feet. The clothes were long and flowy, covering her hands up to her fingers and partially covered her feet. Her hands were folded and her hair was draped over her shoulder.

"Did you hear that? You're coming with us!" Gwen beamed. She nodded.

"Looks like you're going to be part of the family," Ben gave her a toothy smile. "The Tennyson family."

Max and Dr. Nawrocki came back to the room and he held out the clipboard to her, "Please sign this, sweetie." She did so and signed with a messy 'x' and a jagged question mark. He nodded, "Okay, she's all yours."

He left and a nurse came in with a wheelchair. "Please sit in this," she said.

"Why?" she asked.

"It's just for safety in case you fall or slip," she said.

She let out a deep exhale from her nose and stood up. She sat in the wheelchair and was taken out of the room with the Tennyson family in tow.

Because her room was on the second floor of the hospital, the trip down to the front entrance took a little while, not that she really minded. She actually quite enjoyed being pushed around in the wheelchair, although she had a feeling that if she was unable to walk the feeling would be the exact opposite.

Finally, they walked outside the entrance doors and came to a stop. She stood up and they led her to the Rust Bucket.

Ben opened the door and was about to climb inside, but Gwen stopped him, "Now, now, ladies first."

She was about to get in, but he stopped her, "Now, now, beauty before ugly." She growled. He gestured for their new travel partner to climb in, "Go right ahead."

She gave a small, close-eyed smile, "Thanks."

She got inside and was surprised by just how quaint and cozy it was inside. This wasn't something she was accustomed to seeing, she had only ever seen the bleak interior of tents and warehouses.

The three children sat at the table while Max pulled the Rust Bucket out of the parking lot and onto the open road. It was finally time to get back to seeing the country.

Ben decided to ask her something that he had been wondering about for awhile, "I don't think we ever asked you this, but how long were you with those freaks?"

He expected her to not respond or for her to take her time or even for her to have another mental meltdown. Either way, he definitely expected Gwen to snap at him, which was what she did all the time anyway.

His presumption about what his cousin would do was proven true, "Ben! You shouldn't-"

But what he expected from her was not, "No, it's fine. I don't really mind anymore."

He raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

Gwen did the same thing, "Yeah, really?"

She nodded, "Yeah, it's fine. I was with them for as long as I can remember. I can't really remember anything before them, they're really the only thing I've ever known."

"So, they pretty much raised you?" she inquired.

She nodded again, "Originally, I was just a little nuisance that they didn't really mind, until my powers suddenly showed up out of nowhere and that's when they decided to make me a thief just like them."

They came to a stop at a red light, so Max decided to take this opportunity to ask her, "Did they ever give you a name? Or have you just been known as 'Enigma' your entire life?"

"I've just been known as Enigma my whole life," she answered. "I don't remember my real name."

"Well, I'm not going to call you 'Enigma'," Gwen spoke. "You need a name."

"But what should that name be?" she asked. "I don't know what to call myself."

She thought about it for a second before she finally thought of something and suggested to her, "How about Layla? I think that suits you."

Ben scoffed, "Seriously? You think that's a good name?"

"Oh? And you think 'Four Arms' is a cool name?" she shot. "It's so obvious."

"And you think you can come up with a better name?" he growled.

While they bickered, Max commented, "Well, I think Layla is a fine name for a beautiful girl."

She smiled, "Okay then, Layla it is."

For the next week, Layla had practically become part of the family. She was an absolute joy to have around albeit she was still a bit shy and quiet. She really helped to balance out the tension between the cousins.

During this time, she had seen all of Ben's transformations in action and was quite impressed by them. Although Ben no longer has his transformation, she considers Ghostfreak to be her favorite simply because of the bond she feels like she has with him, but can't explain how or why she feels that way.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Although they loved having her around, the truth of the matter is that she can't stay with them. The summer was already halfway over and how would Ben or Gwen's parents react to her? A stray they took in and nursed back to health.

Fortunately, Max had an old friend from his days as an active Plumber that he felt would be more than willing to take her in. He remembered how he always said that he wanted to have kids, but his girlfriend wasn't interested.

The only problem would be to tell her that she can't be with them anymore. Hopefully, it will go well and she won't turn them into red puddles because of a broken heart.

Max parked the Rust Bucket at a campsite in the mountains right next to a tarn. The kids started to unpack and set up everything.

Meanwhile, Max was still inside the Rust Bucket talking to someone through his old Plumbers badge, "We're right by a lake. Is that good for you?"

"Yep," someone with a southern accent replied. "That should be good. Little hard to breathe outta water."

He laughed, "Alright, see you soon then."

"Grandpa, can we go into the lake?" Ben asked.

"Sure," he responded. "I'll be out in a minute."

The kids changed into swimsuits, Gwen loaned Layla a spare one since she didn't have one. She struggled to put it on because of the material, but eventually figured it out.

Ben, of course being Ben, decided to do a cannonball into the water, much to Gwen's annoyment. The two girls got in by simply walking into the water.

The girls talked and playfully splashed each other while Ben was contemplating his latest prank. Once he was done, he went under water and dialed up an alien.

As long as the Omnitrix doesn't mess this up, it should be one of his best. But that would be a stretch.

"So, anyway, my friend-" Gwen was cut off from her story when she was pulled under the water. She used her arms to keep herself above water. "What's going on?!"

Layla had a feeling she knew what was going on and went under to investigate. Luckily she can see underwater and saw that her suspicions were confirmed.

Pulling down on her ankle was a humanoid anglerfish with light grey scales, a green antenna, sharp claws, a green dorsal fin, a black tail with a white stripes in a wide 'v' shaped pattern and a green tailfin, and a large mouth with massive sharp teeth. It was Ripjaws, Ben's Piscciss Volann transformation.

He pulled on her again and laughed, "This should teach you to mess with me, dweeb."

Suddenly, ice began to form on his arm, making his let go of Gwen's ankle as he tried to get it off. The more he tried, the more ice started to form and spread to other parts of his body and began to take shape on his other arm.

"What's happening?" he exclaimed.

He was soon completely entrapped in the ice, unable to move. She used her telekinesis to propel him out of the water and onto the shore of the tarn.

She resurfaced and asked, "Are you okay, Gwen?"

"I'm fine," she answered, coughing, "but what happened?"

She pointed at the block of ice on the shore. Max stood over it and started hitting it with a rock.

She clenched her fists and growled, "That dweeb!"

They walked out of the water just as the Omnitrix timed out and as Max was able to get him out of the ice. He looked up at them and laughed nervously.

"Ben," Gwen growled.

"Not now, kids, go back inside and get dressed," Max practically demanded.

Ben raised an eyebrow, "What's his deal?"

They did as they were told anyway and went back inside the Rust Bucket to change. Layla put on a periwinkle shirt and tan shorts along with a red, black, and white plaid flannel jacket.

They walked out and there was a variety of food sitting on the picnic table. While Ben and Gwen weren't the biggest fans of Max's food, Layla didn't really mind and at least it was better than some of the things she's eaten.

What was odd though was the amount of food on the table. It was a lot more than what was usually set out.

Ben asked Max, "Why did you want us to get dressed so badly?"

"Because," he started, "we're going to be having a guest here shortly."

"A guest? Way out here?" he remarked.

"He's an old friend of mine," he explained.

"So, when's he supposed to get here?" Gwen asked.

Her question was answered when what looked like a pixelated tractor beam suddenly appeared out of nowhere. When it cleared, a middle-aged humanoid that looked like a scrawny version of Ripjaws wearing a suit of white armor appeared.

"Hey, there," he greeted politely in a southern accent.

"Can somebody please tell why there's an old man Ripjaws standing right in front of us?!" Ben exclaimed.

"Kids, this is Patelliday," Max introduced him to them, "we used to be part of the same Plumber strike team."

"Nice to meet you!" he chirped.

The five of them started to eat the food at the table. Patelliday scarfed down the food like a hungry pig, much to the disgust of Ben and Gwen.

'Now I get why grandpa made so much food,' Gwen mentally grimaced.

Because of Patelliday's ravenous appetite, dinner was over much quicker than normal. Not that Ben and Gwen really minded, they were more relieved if anything.

"So," Gwen started, "why are you here, Mr. Patelliday?"

"Your grandfather Max asked me to come," he answered. "He said that there's someone he wants me to meet."

"There is," Max spoke as he approached with Layla with a hand on her shoulder. "Patelliday, this is Layla, we took her in a week ago."

They shook hands, "Nice to meet you, little lady."

"Nice to meet you, sir," she replied politely.

Gwen knew that she would have to leave them soon, but not this soon, "Grandpa, what's going on?"

He called Ben over and explained to them, "Kids, unfortunately, Layla can't stay with us anymore. I called Patelliday and asked if he could take her in."

Ben gasped, "But, grandpa!-"

He cut him off, "Sorry, kids, but she can't stay with us because I'm not sure how your parents would react, especially since she has powers."

Layla sighed sadly, "I understand."

"No!" Gwen protested. "Grandpa, you can't just get rid of her! She's practically family!"

"I understand that, Gwen, but you have to understand that this is for her own good," he replied.

"Well, whaddya say, Layla?" Patelliday questioned.

She inhaled deeply and exhaled, "I'll go with you."

U-Y-U~I~U-Y-U

(A/N: So? Good? Bad? How is it? I'm always willing to accept feedback from anyone.

So, yeah, sadly she won't be staying with the Tennysons. The reason for that is the reason Max gave to Ben and Gwen, there's just no way to explain her powers to anyone besides them because they can handle the supernatural and paranormal. There is another reason, but that's for later. Much later.

"Fast Friends" was updated a couple of days ago and I have a feeling it's a chapter people would enjoy. If only they would read it! Can you understand my frustration?

Also, unless something goes wrong (*knocks on wood*), Toy2711 and I should be getting started on our one-shot very shortly. Check out his stuff in the meantime, he's cool.)