I own neither of these intellectual properties.
Gwendolyn 'Gwen' Tennyson was not a normal girl.
Normal girls had normal problems. Clothes, boys, school, the like. Oh, how Gwen wished all her problems were that simple. She knew where it all started. The point at which her life was changed forever.
The road trip with Grandpa Max and her cousin Ben.
Seeing Ben in her grandpa's RV was bad enough. But the twerp literally couldn't go a day without messing something up. And like clockwork, literally on the first night, he inadvertently impacted his, grandpas, and her life forever.
That night, Ben walked from the campsite empty handed. He came back with a watch. Well, not at first. He actually came back as an alien.
Gwen would never forget that first night, when she laid her eyes on Ben's Heatblast transformation. In her fear, she didn't recognize Ben for what he was. She was too busy trying to avoid the forest fire he started. When things did eventually calm down, a massive droid hit the park and another fight broke out. In just an hour, the road trip had turned from a simple family vacation to something completely alien.
Ben had obtained the Omnitrix, a device that allowed him to transform between 10 different alien forms. Along their trip, the Tennyson's came across villains and other evildoers that Ben eagerly tested his new powers on to bring them to justice. Ben had always been a hero fan, and was eager to replicate what he saw All Might do on TV.
Grandpa Max and Gwen were just along for the ride. Gwen couldn't really tell dream from reality at this point. Everything that was going on seemed like a fever dream. Aliens, which previously she had never thought to have existed, were crawling out of the woodwork. Like, everything was an alien. American landmarks were alien, her family was alien, and for some reason only like three aliens were friendly. All the other ones were evil.
It wasn't all Ben's show though. One of the villains they ran into, a young girl not that much older than Gwen herself, Charmcaster, dropped one of her spellbooks in a battle against the Tennysons. It was then Gwen found out she had a knack for magic, and under the alias 'Lucky Girl,' started living out her own dreams of superheroism.
But that was then, in the past. Things had settled down, normalized. Five years had passed since their hero days. It felt weird for Gwen to think like that. She was having thoughts like a retired veteran, as a 15 year old, about her adventures as a 10 year old. Strange, how the world works.
Ben had taken off the Omnitrix. It was a startling change, but after their battle against Malware, something seemed to have died in Ben. He had shocked everyone with his decision: her, grandpa, and even Azmuth, the creator of the Omnitrix. Before, he never would have parted with the watch for a second, but he had gone through middle school in its entirety without it. It saddened her to see the change initially, but Ben bounced back. He studied more. He joined a soccer team. He was making friends, being human after spending so much time as an alien. It was a pleasant sight.
As for Gwen, well, her life continued as well. Always the studious type, she worked her butt off in middle school, passing her classes with flawless records. She was already on high school level material, and even encroaching on college classes. She was on her middle school's jujutsu team, as well as in a private taekwondo dojo. Oh, she was also a black belt too. Gwen liked being busy; it felt good and was fulfilling. But that wasn't the only thing she studied.
Claiming her magical abilities as an awakened part of her quirk to her parents was difficult. Her parents said they understood, but they had a different answer in their eyes. Gwen remembered her mother walking away from their conversation afterwards, muttering the name 'Verdona' under her breath. Gwen had no idea who that was.
Nevertheless, with her parents' understanding, Gwen worked hard at mastering her newfound abilities. She called it 'Mana' for the sake of quirk registration. Calling it magic, in her mind, would give people the wrong idea of her powers.
At first, Gwen was completely reliant on spellbooks and charms. Then, she was able to chant the incantations without a book. The next step was simply using her powers without a verbal component. Now, though, Gwen felt as though she had finally unlocked the true potential of her powers.
She trained at a quirk gym, one of the few areas people could use their quirks without legal consequence. When Gwen wasn't practicing martial arts for exercise, she was exploring her powers. She could do so much more than she ever thought possible!
But she didn't want to be a hero.
It wasn't like Gwen was opposed to the concept of heroism. Her actions as a ten year old spoke of her desire to do good. It was everything else that came with being a hero these days. She would never admit it aloud, but in her eyes, Ben was a true hero. While the lack of fame and fortune made him pouty at times, that was all that it did to him: make him pout. He never really cared about the attention or money, unless Sumo Slammers was involved.
Heroes in the modern day were less about law enforcement and more about marketing. Brand promotions, deals with support item companies, rankings, it all just seemed unheroic to Gwen. Shouldn't heroes be concerned about doing good rather than looking good? When did an arbitrary number determine a hero's worth? It all didn't make sense to her, and she wasn't afraid to speak her mind.
So it came as a massive surprise to her family when she set a paper emboldened with the silvery letters UA on the dinner table.
"High school overseas? Gwen, are you sure about this?" Her mother picked up the paper and looked it over closely.
"UA too! Isn't that the famous hero school, the one All Might graduated from?" Her older brother, Ken, asked as he craned his neck to look over his mother's shoulder to read the application as well.
"What's this really about hon? I know you didn't want to go to that public high school, but I thought you liked that private institution on the other side of town." Her father said.
"This isn't something I decided to do overnight Mom and Dad." Gwen sighed, already anticipating such a reaction. "This has to do with what we discussed with my middle school counselor before I graduated."
"Oh, is this about what you said back then? I didn't know you felt so passionate about the subject!" Her mother sounded quite pleased.
Yes, Gwen actually did want to join the hero industry, but not in the way one may expect. Instead of being a hero, she wanted to become someone to hold the heroes accountable. Someone had to draw the line somewhere, especially when heroes these days could blow apart buildings with a sneeze.
"Yes Mom, this is about that. If you'd look closer Ken, you'd see that I have applied, and been approved for, the general studies course." It was true. Gwen's paper showed that she had not checked the box that asked if she wished to undertake the infamous UA entrance exam.
"Huh. My little girl is getting into law, huh?" Her father leaned back in his chair. "Well, you certainly have the smarts for it. Don't know who you inherited it from, but it wasn't me!"
"I thought this over. There is no better place to get an education on heroes and hero law than Japan, the hero capitol of the world." Gwen said.
"Wait, but what about the language?" Ken asked.
"What about it?" Gwen spoke back in fluent Japanese, smirking at Ken's expression.
"What? B-but you were just studying French!" He waved wildly at the thick french textbooks laying on the coffee table.
"That's because French was for a grade. Because this is something I want to do, I put it on myself to learn Japanese." Gwen said, but then turned her attention to her parents, her expression now serious.
"Mom, Dad, I really want to do this. I think I finally found something I want to do! This is the best way for me to gain the knowledge and experience to succeed. So, please?" Gwen pleaded.
"I don't know..." Her mother remained indecisive.
"Oh let her go Natalie." Her father suddenly spoke.
"Frank!" Her mother turned on him.
"Gwen put a lot of time and effort into this, and I think it is only fair that we let her give it a good honest try. Look at her, she is excited about this, begging us for this! When's the last time she begged us for anything Natalie?"
"..." Her mother didn't answer, but she was still worried, as any mother would be.
"Gwen has all sorts of incredible achievements. She had a 4.2 gpa when she was 10, the head of many clubs and organizations in school, a volunteer at pretty much all the charities in town, entering high school but ready to take college classes, and most recently, a black belt. But, she has shown no interest in pursuing these areas as a career. Let's give her this chance."
"Dad!" Gwen was touched at her father's trust in her.
"C'mon Mom. We all know Gwen got all the smarts in the family. You should be worried about me rather than her." Ken chuckled good-naturedly. "I mean, all you sent me to a boarding school for middle school. This is the same thing, just in high school."
"But it's across the globe." Gwen heard her mother whisper.
"In the nation with the highest concentration of heroes in the world." Ken countered. "Plus, All Might moved back there a couple years ago, remember? Plus, Gwen isn't going there to train to be a hero. She's going for an education."
"You trusted her on that summer road trip." Her father reminded her mother. "You thought it would be a disaster, but look what happened! Gwen was so different, so mature when she came back. The relationship between her and Ben not only healed, but became good! We could finally take family vacations together! This is just the next step."
"Mhmm." Gwen's mother chewed a fingernail. "I still want a day or two to think it over. I trust you, Gwen, but sending my daughter overseas for up to four years is not a decision I can make in one night."
"I'll be in the Japanese school system Mom. It'll be only three years, if I don't graduate early. Which I may. Remember what I said about the paper? I have already been approved to attend UA, all I have to do is attend the entrance exam for appearances sake." Gwen pointed out.
"Oh!" Her mother looked a lot more relieved.
"Here, this is a message from the principal himself!" Gwen slid her phone over the table, an email from UA displayed. Her father picked up the phone and started reading it's contents out loud.
"Dear Miss Tennyson Gwendolyn, after looking over your submitted application, I am happy to inform you that you already reached the minimum requirements for your selected courses. UA's general education department would be delighted to have you as a student. Your grades and achievements, academic and beyond, show that you will be a perfect fit at this school. There is only one more step you must take for your spot in UA to be cemented: take our written exam. While for you, this is unnecessary, as your test scores and grades more than prove your academic aptitude, this is something no student is exempt from. Whether you want to join our hero, gen ed, support or business course, one must take the exam. This is to confirm identification, location, and all the other legal necessities. I look forward to seeing you soon! The UA principal- Nezu."
"Wow." Gwen's Dad whistled. "I knew you were smart, but for someone of this caliber to acknowledge it as well?"
Ken was nodding. "Nice. You got a golden ticket!"
"Mom?" All eyes were on the mother.
"Promise to come home on holidays?"
"I'll come home even when it's not a holiday!"
"Well, if the principal himself wants you, then who am I to refuse him?"
"Yay!" Gwen cheered, hands in the air. Her family laughed and congratulated her. It was happening. She was traveling abroad, just as she always wanted!
But, there was something she needed to take care of first.
Time Skip
"So, you're leaving?" Gwen nodded.
"Today's the day." Gwen's family was in the car, waiting for her to say her last goodbye.
After all they had been through, there was just no way Gwen could leave without saying goodbye to Ben.
"The States have good law schools too." Ben grumbled, kicking the pavement with his shoe.
"I know, but those are colleges. A UA diploma, even if it is just a high school, carries just as much weight if not more. I asked for this, Ben. I can't turn back now."
"I know. It's just... you... I..." Ben was fumbling with his words.
Gwen noticed that he was rubbing his left wrist, a habit he developed. It was still strange, seeing Ben without the Omnitrix, even if it had been years.
"I'll be a call away Ben. And besides, if you really do get into trouble, you know what to do." A secret that only Ben, Gwen and their grandpa knew was that Ben still had the Omnitrix, he just didn't wear it. It was in the bottom of a small box he hid in his closet.
"It won't be the same without you." Ben turned away.
"You got by fine without me before, and you will now." Gwen pulled her cousin into a hug. Ben paused, but then held her tight.
"Good luck over there. If anyone gives you a hard time, just let me know. I'll put on the watch and fly over the entire Pacific as Stinkfly if I have to!"
"I know you will." Gwen laughed.
She pulled away, walking back to her family.
"Goodbye Ben. I'll be in touch!"
"So long." Ben stood in his driveway, waving at the car driving away.
Gwen was puzzled as her entire family gave her odd looks.
"What?"
"Sorry Gwen, but it was just so strange to see you and Ben getting along so well." Her father shook his head, hands on the wheel.
"We matured. Grew up. When we were kids we would argue over stupid things. I'm over it now and so is he." Gwen sighed. In reality, the confusion was deserved. She and Ben had some nasty squabbles in the past.
"Well... this is it."
Her family was reluctant to let her go. Promise after promise was made. That she would call. That she would be safe. All were reassured and Gwen slowly slipped from their fingers and disappeared into Bellwood's international airport.
Gwen muddled through the standard airport affair. While a teenager going through an airport raised some eyebrows, Gwen carried herself with confidence that made people shrug and look the other way. She wasn't lost and obviously knew what she was doing.
A small wait and a boarding procedure later, Gwen was flying. She busied herself with studying to pass the time. She was confident in her academic abilities, but she always thought one could never be too prepared.
The plane touched down and Gwen disembarked into the crowded, bustling Japanese city Musutafu. Gwen knew what she had to do. Get out, get a car/cab/bus and go to her new apartment. It wasn't close to UA, so she would have to take the train. But she read that it was a common practice among Japanese students.
Gwen was prepared. She had the smarts to get into UA, and the capacity to learn to excel once in. She had a good handle on Japanese (along with a good level of fluency in French as well) and had confidence in her ability to live on her own.
She learned to cook, alongside Ben, during their stay in the Rust Bucket. Takeout wasn't always available, and with the only other option being eating Grandpa Max's meals, Gwen and Ben learned fast.
She patted down her dark blue sweater, which she wore over a white shirt. A suitcase dragged in one hand, a backpack over her shoulders, and feeling more confident than ever, Gwen stepped out of the airport.
'Can't be any worse than what I've already experienced, right?'
I don't know how these author notes work, so I'm just gonna use what I saw other people doing.
This is my first fic, and it's an unfinished idea that I wanted to write, so here it is.
I'll try to improve with time, so this may be a bit lacking.
Always liked Gwen and B10. Recently got into MHA. Might as well put the two together.