August 24, 2008

Rust Bucket; 2:15 pm

"Time to get up doofus!" Ben, shaken from his sleep, fell off the top bunk straight onto a pile of dirty clothes.

"What was that for!?" He screamed rubbing the back of his head.

"You've been sleeping all morning. If you don't finish packing soon we're leaving you behind." Today was the last day of their Summer trip and Ben was not ready to go back to normal life. Grandpa Max had sat them both down last night and gave them rules to follow.

1: Do not use the watch or magic unless it's an emergency

2: Do not do hero work unless it's an emergency

3: Do not do hero work alone

Max made sure to emphasize the third rule knowing full well Ben would break the first two given the chance. After a hefty lecture and some pestering from his cousin, he begrudgingly agreed. Satisfied, Max promised to take them to a nice lunch before dropping them off.

Ben had spent most of the night laying in bed thinking about how incredible his Summer had been and how in twenty-four hours he'd be boring old Ben Tennyson again. Having given up on finding any sleep that night he snuck out of the RV and transformed into XLR8 effectively breaking the first rule immediately. This may be the last time he gets to feel what it's like being an alien for who knows how long so he wanted to enjoy every second of it. Running with no particle destination in mind he let the wheels on his feet lead him down the road passing late-night drivers and roaming animals. He kept running even when the city was far behind him and continued into the woods, across a moderately sized lake, and up a large hill only stopping to admire the starry night sky. Back home he'd never get to see a view like this. Just a few weeks ago he was up there in those very stars fighting aliens and no one would ever know.

At that moment, the Omnitrix started to blink followed by a bright red flash leaving the small boy all alone laying in the grass. Back home he was usually alone whether it be by choice or for getting into fights and angering the other kids. He knew it was going to be hard going back to that after spending all Summer at the hip with his cousin. Even when they were fighting they were hardly ever alone for longer than a few hours. Not even Ben was dumb enough to not see that he considered her his best friend even if he'd never admit it to her face. "Don't need the dweeb to carry that over my head too." He thought to himself. "She must be so happy to finally go back to her perfect life. Would she even want to see me after all this is over?"

After some time the watch's signature green color returns and Ben rushes back to where the Rust Bucket was parked. After turning back into himself, he changed out of clothes feeling itchy from the grass and jumped up to his bunk to finally get some rest.

After being rudely woken up he glared up at his cousin contemplating if filling her bags with Stinkfly gunk would be worth the lecturing. Having done her duty she started to walk away. "Hey, Dweeb!" He shouted causing her to turn around giving him an annoyed look. "You don't have to come along when the hero stuff happens." He said it harsher than he intended, but if she was upset by it she didn't show it.

"Of course I'm coming along." She said with a smirk. "Somebody has to make sure you don't get yourself killed doing something stupid."


June 1, 2016

Pittsburg, PA; 2:15 pm

"It's time to get up, Ben." Feeling a sense of deja vu, the young man groggily got to his feet and looked over to the girl. "We just got into town. If you want to get changed we can wait for you outside."

"No, it's fine." He said followed by a yawn. "You guys go on ahead; I'll catch up." Gwen gave him a worried look before turning around to leave. Thinking about the past would always cause Ben to become emotional and that was the last thing he needed while Gwen was around. Grabbing a change of clothes he went to the bathroom to shower.

As an eighteenth birthday present, Azmuth gave Ben a new version of the Omnitrix. With a slimmer design and being much faster than the original, Ben's favorite feature was that he was actually able to take off the watch. He still remembers the awful smell from not washing his wrist. That's not even mentioning the tan line. His parents had been concerned for their son's mental health after he had refused to take off the watch for almost half his life. When he suddenly removed that oversized eyesore in favor of a smaller model, they didn't know what to think.

After his shower, and some mental preparation, Ben called Grandpa Max and headed out to meet up with them. He said they were at a nearby art museum. When he found the place he could see Gwen was outside talking on the phone.

"Everything's been good, Mom. You don't need to worry." In the background, she could hear her younger brother, Ken, asking to talk on the phone. Eventually, her mom gave in and let them talk.

"Hi, Gwen!" The buy screamed enthusiastically. "Dad said you were on a trip with Grandpa and Ben."

"That's right Kenny, but don't worry I'll be back before you know it."

"Is Ben being nice to you?" The question had caught her off gourd causing her to tense up.

"We've been alright… Why do you ask?"

"Ben hates me," Ken said matter of factly. "I don't want him being mean to you just because you're my big sister."

"Ben doesn't hate you." She said trying her hardest to sound confident. "If anything, I'm the one he doesn't like."

"What happened?"

"We had a... disagreement a long time ago." She said choosing her words carefully. "And you know how we Tennyson's are, stubborn to the end." Even when we know when we're wrong.

"You should say you're sorry. Then we can all be friends." Ken's mood could change at the drop of a hat and it always made her wonder if she had acted like that when she was his age.

"I'll try, Kenny. Maybe when I get back we could all get together. I'm sure Aunt Sandra and Uncle Carl would love to have you over." That seemed to be enough to satisfy him and soon he had hung up to go back to whatever he had been doing before their mother had called. She noticed Ben standing off to the side and felt guilt rise up inside her. "How long have you been standing there?"

"I just got here." He lied. "Where's Grandpa?"

"He said he was gonna go shopping for dinner." Knowing him it's going to be something uneditable." The thought of it caused both of their stomachs to turn. Ben figured Max had left without telling him so they'd be alone and hopefully get along. Feeling the awkward tension between them, they entered the Andy Warhol Museum and spent a good hour looking around before their stomach's demanded their attention.

"We should get something to eat," Ben suggested. "Grandpa's sense of taste has only gotten worse over the years. Last Summer he made turtle shell soup."

"That doesn't sound so bad." Gwen had soup out of a turtle shell before and it wasn't anywhere near their grandfather's standards of cooking.

"It doesn't until you realize the soup is made of broken turtle shells." That made Gwen gag a little. Neither had said another word the entire walk. Gwen thought back the conversation with her brother. She had wanted to talk about what had happened all those years ago but it felt too soon to bring it up. This was the first time they had been together in years and they had been relatively civil, aside from when they picked up Ben. Opening old wounds would only cause more problems that she wasn't ready to face just yet. "How does this sound?" They had stopped in front of a local pizza shop. Having not eaten since breakfast, the smell of greasy food sounded like the greatest thing in the world to the two teens.

The restaurant was a bit crowded given the time of day, but the line went by quickly. Ben got a meat lovers and Gwen got a Hawaiian. "Seriously?" Ben made a show of gagging as he teased her. "You must have gotten your 'refined' palette from Grandpa if you think pineapple goes on a pizza."

"It's better than that mound of meat you call a pizza." She retorted. "Can you even taste anything else behind that grease trap?" They continued trading insults as they ate laughing all the while.

After they finished eating they sat at their table letting their stomachs digest. "As much as I would love to eat pizza every day, I don't think my wallet could handle it." Ben said with a sad smile.

"We should probably stop by the store on the way to the Rust Bucket," Gwen suggested. "I think I heard Grandpa mention something about pig's brain and gravy before he left." Ben looked like he wanted to throw up just thinking about it and Gwen was sure she had a similar look.

"We better get going soon if we plan on surviving this Summer." The closest grocery store wasn't very far and the walk helped calm their stomachs. They settled on basics like eggs, bread, and hot dogs instead of elaborate meals. It wasn't the healthiest choices by far, but they were cheap which meant they could get a large amount to last them a while. The walk back was a peaceful quiet without the awkward tension from earlier. Gwen felt like they were finally starting to get along again. That was until a car sped by followed by a line of police cars.

Rule #2 Do not do hero work unless it's an emergency.

A car chase wasn't enough to warrant going hero, but Ben had already thrown the grocery bag to the side reaching for the watch. "Ben!" But by the time she got his name out a flash of green had gone off and a blue blur was already off in the distance. "So much for rule number three." She sighed picking up the groceries off the ground. She continued her walk alone having to stop by the store again to buy new eggs.