Monsters Keepers, part II


Ben


Whatever was in the water was huge - and worse, it didn't seem to intimidate Eric Edwards, or his goons, who were still holding Julie Yamamoto.

"I told you my story before, but there was one bit I may have lied about," Edwards said in a somber tone. "Remember when I said my friends and I went on a hike? Vilgaxians attacked us, and I ran away? Actually, I tried to run away, but I wasn't able to. They caught me, and I begged for mercy . . . And the Vilgaxians showed mercy as soon as I swore loyalty to their emperor, Vilgax, and to their god, Cthulhu."

Were the crimes of Eric Edwards the result of coercion by the Vilgaxians? Maybe then Ben could convince him to surrender.

"Edwards, let the girl go, tell us what you did to those missing people, and surrender. S.E.C.T. can protect you from the Vilgaxians. You will still have to pay for your crimes, but we can guarantee a lower sentence."

"If S.E.C.T. could protect anyone, my friends wouldn't be dead," Edwards replied, "No, Watch Boy. The problem with S.E.C.T. is that you guys think you can stop the inevitable. Vilgax has already conquered many worlds, sooner or later he will take over Earth as well. We should be discussing the terms of our surrender."

"They killed your friends. You said it yourself! How can you want us to surrender to them?" Ben asked.

"Our corrupt authorities are the only ones to blame for the death of innocent people in this futile resistance against the Vilgaxians. Presidents, ministers and politicians who are clinging to power instead of accepting reality," Edwards said, his voice filled with passion. "Submission to Vilgax is Cthulhu's will. Many other worlds tried to go against it, and fell before him. If we accept Vilgax as our emperor, we will be rewarded instead of slaughtered."

"Okay, he's lost it," Ben muttered, "Where are the missing people?"

Edwards shrugged, "I've delivered them to the Vilgaxians. They needed subjects for some experiments. I honestly don't know the gory details, but I doubt those people are still alive."

"YOU MONSTER!" Lucky Girl snapped. "Those people. . . Your Institution 'Charity Keepers'. . . "

"My institution is the real deal my dear. I help a lot of people, and I assure you that weighing everything in the balance, I do much more good than bad for our society. Sadly, some sacrifices are necessary." Edwards really seemed to believe in what he was saying.

"You will not get away with it," Lucky Girl said.

"Well thanks to you, Lucky Girl, I will. Everyone's afraid of witches. Bellwood's citizens will have no difficulty accepting that the new witch in town was killing poor homeless people for her magic rituals." Edwards smiled again. "S.E.C.T. agent Watch Boy was dumb enough to be seduced by her, and she used him to find the girl who noticed the disappearances of her victims - Miss Yamamoto here. I will gladly give the footage from my company's cameras that show you both talking to Julie when the police start investigating her disappearance soon. I'm sure when the three of you vanish, everyone will think that Lucky Girl killed Watch Boy and Julie, and then fled from this town."

"You think you're going to kill us?" Ben's fingers were already dancing over the Omnitrix, ready to go hero at a second's notice. The only thing stopping him was his concern about what they could do to Julie.

"Oh, I won't kill anyone. She will." Edwards motioned to the water beneath him. "I got a task from the Vilgaxians. All I have to do is take care of this little girl, whose name is-"

Suddenly an enormous green tentacle shot from the water and reached for its next meal. Edwards grabbed Julie and shoved her in the direction of the appendage, seeing as how it wasn't really picky about where its food came from. The slimy tentacle wrapped around her legs and began to drag her into the pool. "AAAAAAAAAH," Julie screamed.

"GOING HERO!" Ben jumped in the water, and immediately slammed down the watch to begin his transformation.

It was still an odd feeling, one he doubted he would ever get used to, but right now he was too focused on saving the girl to dwell too much on it. Thin aquatic scales replaced skin, fins replaced his hands and feet, gills sprouted from his neck, and to top of the anglerfish-like head, a gray humanoid body like appearance, were razor sharp claws, and a set of jaws that could swallow a truck tire whole. Earning this alien the name, Ripjaws.

He hit the water with a splash swimming at top speeds while reaching for Julie, who was desperately trying to grab a hold of him. But it wasn't until he had her in his claws that he saw what he was up against. The giant squid was more than twice his size and was nothing but tentacles and a big head full of teeth. With Julie in her tentacles, the monster easily pulled the girl closer and closer to her open mouth . . .

With all his power Ripjaws bit the tentacle holding Julie. The monster squirmed in pain, her blood blurring the water. With his claws still having a hold of Julie, Ripjaws wrenched her from the creature's grasp. The Squid Monster's cries of pain echoed through the water as Ripjaws swam to the surface. As soon as they broke the water, Julie's oxygen deprived lungs took in an enormous burst of air, almost choking as she did so.

Lucky Girl was at the water's edge, ready to help Julie out of the water.

"Edwards and his henchmen escaped by another passage, and they got us trapped in here," Lucky Girl said. "Is everything okay with you?"

"Don't worry," he answered in the deep, gasping voice of the alien. "It was easy. I didn't actually have to beat the monster, I just had to get Julie out of the pool. She can't harm us here out of the water."

But he was wrong. With astonishment, he watched the Squid Monster come out of the pool, using her tentacles to move around on the dry floor. She was pissed.

"Uh, oh, we're screwed . . ." Ripjaws thought.

Lucky Girl also stared at the Squid Monster with wide-eyes.

Julie was utterly frightened - a natural reaction for a normal person who had been kidnapped and almost devoured by a Squid Monster.

One of the Squid's tentacles immediately grabbed Ripjaws, and tossed him aside like a ragdoll, then its enormous bulb-like eyes zeroed in on Lucky Girl and Julie, still hungry.

When a tentacle tried to catch Lucky Girl, she managed to grab it and cast a spell, "Incendia!"

The squid's tentacle immediately burst into flames causing the monster to retreat back into the water. Lucky Girl ran to Ripjaws' side to check on him.

SPLASH!

Once again a tentacle exploded from the pool and reached for whatever was closest to stuff into her gullet, and once again her grasp found Julie. Lucky Girl charged, a spell on her lips, but the tentacle that had grabbed Julie thrashed wildly, crashing into Lucky Girl and knocked her away from the pool. Julie cried out for help, but she was quickly being lowered into its jaws.

"HEY! HOW 'BOUT YOU CHEW ON SOME RAW RIPJAWS" The alien-fish leapt into the monster's mouth, took a large bite of the squid's tongue and jumped back out, grabbing Julie on the way out. Once again, the bloodied beast screamed in agony. "Now let's-"

BAM!

A red light flashed, changing the razor jawed fish into a normal teenage boy, "Oh no! Not NOW!" The squid squirmed from the pool again, it's anger angled at the two cowering beneath her. Ben threw himself on top of Julie, hoping the creature would take him instead . . .

But that didn't happen.

The next thing he knew, the monster stopped moving and collapsed onto the floor, and he saw a gasping Lucky Girl with a strong blue gleam pulsing from her hand.

"You kept it distracted..." Lucky Girl, still breathing heavily, smiled at Ben. "And I managed to hit the monster right in its brain with a huge blast of mana." Suddenly she dropped to her knees, "Probably wasn't the best idea. I feel so weak now . . ."

"Are you kidding?" Ben was by her side to help her to her feet, "If it weren't for you we'd be squid food by now."

"You two," Julie said softly, "you saved my life."

Ben gave her a wide toothy grin, "All in a day's work for Lucky Girl and, uh, me."

"Crap, I still need a good name."


They called S.E.C.T, and a few minutes later a team of agents arrived at the warehouse taking Watch Boy, Lucky Girl, and Julie to the nearest S.E.C.T base in Bellwood.

Fortunately, with a witness - Julie - who had heard the confession of the criminal, and with the body of the Squid Monster as evidence, S.E.C.T. would be able to get an arrest warrant for Eric Edwards for his crimes.

At that moment, Lucky Girl was discussing the details of her registration with some high-ranking agents while Watch Boy was waiting for her at the front desk.

"Dude you got this. Yes, it's true that usually you're a disaster with girls, but you got this. Things are different now, I totally kicked alien butt, and Lucky Girl saw it. This time things will work out!" Ben thought.

"Hey," Lucky Girl arrived a few moments later and sat next to him smiling.

"Hey," Ben replied, with a smile of his own. "We did a great job as a team, huh? I'd like to talk to our superiors to see if we can be partners on a permanent basis. . . If you agree with that, of course." he stammered.

"Actually . . . I'm ahead of you on that," Lucky Girl said, "When I registered, I specifically asked to be your partner. I mean, if it were not for me, you would've been devoured by a monster today, so I think it's best if I stay around to save your butt."

Now Ben's smile had grown even wider. "She wants to be my partner! I think she likes me too!"

"I would've saved myself anyway." Ben shrugged. "And I'm sure I'll save your butt many times too, and I'll remember to rub it in your face as well," He said, in a joking tone.

In that moment, Lucky Girl's cell phone rang. She stood up and took a few steps away to answer the call.

Now Lucky Girl was with her back turned to Ben, his eyes fell south. "Whoa! Speaking of BUTT! Well, it's one more thing Lucky Girl has in common with Gwen. And, of course, since Lucky Girl is not my cousin, I can admire her 'assets' without feeling guilty afterwards!"

"Yeah, I really could use a ride," Lucky Girl said on the phone. "No, I still don't trust my teleportation spell much. I think I have to train some more with you."

She ended the call and went back to talking to Ben. "I'm sorry."

"No problem," Ben said, without revealing that he had been 'enjoying the view'.

She shuffled a bit, as if she were unsure of what she was about to say. "I wanted to tell you, what you did, jumping in front of that girl to save her... it was very reckless, and stupid, but heroic too. I'm impressed," Lucky Girl said, blushing a little.

"I've impressed Lucky Girl!" Ben thought, excited.

"I get the feeling you like her?" Lucky Girl asked with a smirk on her face.

"You don't need to be jealous," he smirked back to her, "I would do that for any innocent person."

She sputtered, "I'm not jealous. I really think you two would make a very cute couple and-"

Ben was barely paying attention to her words now.

"Can you kiss me- I mean, can I kiss you?" Ben was quite nervous.

Lucky Girl, with eyes the size of dinner plates, folded her arms and shuffled, finding great interest in the wall to the left of them. But then she finally spoke, "Ok. You can give me a peck on the cheek, like friends do."

It wasn't what he wanted, but it was a great start! Lucky Girl turned her cheek to Ben. He held her head gently, and pressed his lips on her face, planting a very long kiss on her. Ben certainly took his time savoring Lucky Girl's soft cheek on his lips.

Then both teenagers' faces went red, flushed with embarrassment.

"We. . . maybe we can go out on a date? So we get to know each other better and become more than just friends?" Ben asked full of hope.

"Ben . . . You're very cute, and I like you, I really do, but as a friend," Lucky Girl said solemnly, "I-I'm-"

Ben's heart sank. He had been friend-zoned once again. And then it hit him.

"I see. You already have a boyfriend." Just now, she was talking to someone on the phone who was going to give her a ride and with whom she trained her spells. It was obviously her boyfriend. How could Ben have failed to see this before? Did his feelings for her blind him to the obvious? An amazing girl like Lucky Girl, of course, she already had someone and wouldn't be interested in him. "I'm sorry, if my parents wake up at night and realize I'm not home, I'll be in trouble. I have to go."

Ben dialed, slammed his watch, and turned into XLR8.

Lucky Girl tried to stop him from leaving, "Ben, wait, we have to talk-" But he was gone in a flash.

XLR8 ran away as fast as he could. He was too heartbroken to talk to anyone right now. In his head, he went through the long list of girls who had rejected him before, like Kai Green and Patty Berkenfeld. Now, even with an awesome alien watch on his wrist, Ben Tennyson was still the same old single, loser.

"I really thought this time things would work out for me," XLR8 thought, disappointed.


Author's Notes

Sorry for the sad ending, but it was necessary for the story at this point. :/

Lucky Girl/Gwen was actually talking to Verdona on the phone.

Big thanks to bearhow for editing this chapter, to Aurora Nightstar for helping with the grammar, and to all who are reviewing, favoriting and following! I wouldn't be writing without your support.