Trojan Horse


Ben


"Dad!" Gwen yelled on the phone with a look of desperation on her face.

"Gwendolyn, you, along with your cousin Charmcaster, your grandmother Verdona and your cousin Ben will surrender to me, and in return I will let Frank Tennyson live. Be at your house at midnight." Hex hung up. The call was on the speaker, so Ben and the others could hear everything.

Ben felt a chill on his spine. Uncle Frank was in serious danger.

After a few moments of total silence, Charmcaster was the first to speak, "If I surrender, he will trigger the mind control spell on me again..." Charmcaster looked at Gwen with guilt written on her face, "I can't, Red. I'm so sorry." And then, suddenly, she ran off.

"Hope, no! Hex can find you out there!" Verdona said. She tried to go after Charmcaster, but she was still too weak after using the spell to free her from the mind control and lost her balance. Grandpa Max held Verdona and prevented her from falling.

Gwen was still in shock, processing the threat Hex made, and Ben realized that he was the best person to go after Charmcaster at that moment. He ran after her through the house, and grabbed her arm before she could reach the exit door, "CC, don't go, you're safer here."

Charmcaster briefly glanced at him with sad eyes, "I'm sorry, Ben. I'm not a hero like you. I don't sacrifice myself to save a person I barely know."

"We just want you here because it's safer. Nobody will force you to do anything. Crap, if I surrender, Hex will hand me over to Vilgax, who will torture me, take off my watch and kill me. I'm sure we'll find another way to save my Uncle Frank that does not involve a slow, agonizing death for me and a life of submission for you. I promise." Ben placed his hand on CC's shoulder.

CC looked at Ben with tear-filled eyes, "Look at me... Your uncle is in danger, you are in danger and all I care about is myself. I really wanted you to see a better side of me, but I don't think I have one. Deep down, all I am is a selfish villain. You must be so disappointed in me... "

"No way. I don't judge you. You've suffered a lot. You lost your parents and was raised by Hex. I completely understand that you're not willing to go out there and do charity," Ben said with a nervous chuckle.

Ben's response made CC shed a tear from her eye.

"So you're not even disappointed in me because you never expected anything good coming from me in the first place," she said, in a hurt tone.

"No, no, that's not what I meant." Ben tried to apologize. Excluding Gwen, he had always been horrible talking to girls. Now wasn't any different, "What I meant was... was..." he didn't even know what to say.

"You're not wrong, Ben. Ever since my father died, I never thought of being anything but a villain. Until I met you. You risk your life for strangers, you're fun, you're caring, you're ... so good." Hope began to caress Ben's face, "You make me want to find goodness inside me again. But there's nothing left of it," she said with a sad smile, brushing her fingers on his cheek.

"I d-don't b-believe it, y-you're a good p-person," Ben tried to say a few words of encouragement to Charmcaster, but he couldn't stop stuttering.

Charmcaster suddenly brought her face close to his, and for a second Ben thought she would kiss him and he froze, not knowing how to react. But then she turned around and did kiss him, but on his cheek.

"T-Thank you, CC," Ben blushed, "Let's go back, okay?"

Ben was obviously imagining things. Charmcaster didn't like him as more than a friend - she'd hit on him a few times before, true, but those were just pranks to tease Gwen. That way was obviously better. He already had feelings for Gwen, and even though they were not oficially dating yet, Ben really hoped they would once they turned 18, so he couldn't return another person's feelings for him. That would only end in heartbreak.

CC simply didn't have many friends, so she was attached and affectionate to Ben and Gwen. Ben had to stop letting his mind wander just because a girl was being friendly with him.

A few minutes later, Gwen had already made up her mind.

"I will not turn anyone over to Hex," Gwen said, "I don't want CC to get brainwashed again, God knows what Hex would do to Verdona, and we all know that the first thing he would do to Ben would be to hand him over to Vilgax. I'll try to persuade Hex to free my father in exchange for me alone."

Everyone protested against the idea. No one wanted Gwen to turn herself over to Hex.

"He won't hurt me. On the phone, he didn't threaten my mother, so I'm sure that this 'immunity' extends to me too," Gwen said.

"You're probably right, but he can still use the Imperius Maledictum spell to brainwash you, Red!" Charmcaster warned.

"That ritual takes weeks," Gwen said, "I'm counting on it that Hex will be stopped before he has the chance to do that to me."

"He's not going to be stopped!" Charmcaster said, desperate, "Uncle Hex is going to crowd Anodyne with Vilgaxian troops, and then not even the combined power of all the sorcerers in the world will be able to take back the planet from him. They would have a chance now, but the Coven will not rally against Hex because he kidnapped their children. He thought of everything."

"Wait a minute," Ben had an idea, "What if we save the children of the Coven members from Hex?"

"We don't know where they are, and even if we did, I'm sure my uncle would have plans within plans to prevent anyone from rescuing them," Charmcaster let out a sigh.

"We can use a Trojan horse!" Ben said, his eyes shining, "I could go with Gwen, hidden as one of my aliens, Hex wouldn't notice! Gwen would find a way to get sent to the same place where the children of the Coven members are, and I could free them all!"

"That is a good idea," Verdona said.

"No way," Grandpa Max intervened, "You can only become alien for 15 minutes, Ben. You would reverse to your human form and get busted before you could do anything useful."

"What if Ben were a very lucky boy, wouldn't he be able to stay in alien form much longer?" Verdona said with a smirk.


"One hour and counting!" Grey Matter said, very excited. Ben had touched Gwen's Charm of Luck, and her luck had been transferred to him. Verdona was right, now he had more control over the duration of his transformation.

"I don't like it, Ben." Gwen folded her arms, "We're pretty sure the Omnitrix doesn't need to recharge, so the only conclusion is that it has a time limit for your health. Staying as an alien for a long time can harm you."

"Dweeb, you're just jealous because I'm playing with your magic toys," Grey Matter said, teasing her so that she would stop worrying about his health.

"Doofus!" Gwen rolled her eyes.

Gray Matter pressed the Omnitrix's plate in his chest and turned back into Ben again, "It works like a charm, literally!"

"I'm not so sure." Verdona arched her eyebrows, "The amulet makes you lucky but it doesn't make Hex dumb. I'm sure somebody will search Gwen and find a four inch tall humanoid frog in her pocket."

"I have another alien that might be a better choice for this situation..." Ben said hesitantly, "But I think Gwen wouldn't agree."

"Ben, I would never do anything to put your life at risk. If you have a safer idea, of course I'll accept it. Let's hear it," Gwen said.

"Okay, since you insist. I could use my mummy, and wrap myself around you... under your clothes." Ben whispered the last part, already preparing for Gwen to get mad at him," Of course I'd never-"

"Ben, don't be silly. I trust you," Gwen said in a calm tone, "and I agree, this is the safest way."

Of course he didn't suggest that out of malice, and he would never take advantage of Gwen, but as hard as he tried to be professional about the situation, he couldn't deny that spending hours like a mummy in direct contact with his stunningly beautiful cousin's body would be... nice, at least. "I'm really lucky," Ben thought, with a smirk creeping on his face.

Grandpa cast a reproving glance at him, and Ben tried to hide his smirk, blushing.


There was not much to do until midnight, so Ben was resting in one of the bedrooms when he heard someone knock on the door. It was Gwen.

She threw herself at him in a tight hug, "I'm scared, Ben. What if Hex doesn't free my dad? What if he kills him? What if he finds out about our 'trojan horse' plan and kills you too?"

Ben hugged her back and tried to calm her down, "Shh, shh, it'll be alright, cuz. Don't worry, don't worry." He kissed her forehead. They remained in that tight embrace for long minutes until it was time to go.


Near midnight, Gwen's house.

Through the mummy-host telepathic connection, Ben, or better, Benmummy, could see and hear everything as if he and Gwen were one and the same. Gwen was "dressed" with Benmummy under her Lucky Girl outfit.

Lucky Girl entered the house and turned on the lights. There was a light brown-skinned man, looking like he was in his early forties, sitting on a chair in the living room.

"Bob Salas?" Lucky Girl asked confused.

Through the telepathic connection, Benmummy knew from Gwen's thoughts that the man was Roberto "Bob" Salas, a great illusionist and stage magician. Gwen had been a fan of him since childhood.

"I never imagined you were a real magician!" Lucky Girl said, amazed, "Nine out of ten of the magic tricks you perform, you explain exactly how you do it!"

"And the tenth, the one I don't explain, I do with real magic," Bob gave her a sad smile, "My biggest trick is to hide myself in plain sight."

And then Lucky Girl folded her arms and frowned, "And I never imagined that you were also allied with a terrorist like Hex. I was your fan until now, Mr. Salas."

Bob let out a long sigh, "I'm not. Hex kidnapped my three children, Natan, Hannah and Anna, so I have no other option but to obey him."

"I'm sorry..." Lucky Girl apologized.

Bob threw a small black rock at the floor and yelled, "Margoloh!" A smoke came out of the stone and a hologram of Hex appeared in the smoke.

"My granddaughter," Hex said with a smile, already knowing that Lucky Girl and Gwen Tennyson were the same person, "You understand that I have to take certain precautions, so I'm not personally here with you now. But we'll meet each other soon. Where are the other three?"

"My father means nothing to Charmcaster or to Grandma Verdona. You should know them well enough to know they would not turn themselves over to you because of him," Lucky Girl said.

"What about your cousin Ben? I'm sure he cares about his uncle," Hex replied in a calm, cold tone.

"I will not let you put your hands on him. If you do, you'll deliver him to Vilgax and he will be tortured and killed. I'm not going to trade my cousin's life for my father's life." Lucky Girl replied angrily, "But here I am. You won't gain anything if you kill my father other than my perpetual hatred. But let him go and I will surrender in good terms."

Hex remained silent for a few seconds, and Lucky Girl broke out in a cold sweat. She was afraid for her father's life, and Benmummy felt the same, not only because the telepathic connection between them was projecting Gwen's thoughts and feelings to his mind, but also because Ben loved his Uncle Frank and cared a lot for him.

To their relief, Hex nodded affirmatively, "We have a deal."

A white portal opened in the middle of the room.

"Come inside," Hex ordered.

Lucky Girl obeyed. As she crossed to the other side, she found herself in a huge spaceship. In front of her, there were dozens of evolved Anodites - no longer beings of flesh and blood, but beings of energy - they were responsible for creating the portal. Lucky Girl and Benmummy guessed that, like Bob Salas, they were working for Hex against their will, with their children being held hostage.

Very soon the cousins realized that this was a Vilgaxian spaceship. There were squid-faced soldiers everywhere, far more numerous than the Anodites. Lucky Girl also saw her father Frank at gunpoint held by two of them.

"Let this civilian go!" Lucky Girl ordered, in a cold tone, trying her best not to show any emotion in order to protect her secret identity. Hex already knew, but the Vilgaxians - and possibly her father - didn't.

The two Vilgaxian soldiers carried Frank by the arms and pushed him through the portal, sending him to Earth. Other soldiers searched Lucky Girl for weapons or any magical artifacts she might have been carrying. They found nothing. The Vilgaxians put an iron collar on Lucky Girl to block her powers and led her through the interior of the ship until they ordered her to get inside a smaller ship.

A gate in the hangar opened, and, piloted by a Vilgaxian soldier, the smaller ship flew into space. Looking through the glass, Lucky Girl could see that they were close to a red planet with orange rings around it. She knew it was Anodyne. A few minutes later, the ship landed on the planet.

Despite the situation, Lucky Girl couldn't help but feel amazed by the fact that she was putting her feet on the home planet of her ancestors. The sight of the sky was beautiful. Although it was night, the bright shine from the orange rings illuminated the sky. She could smell magic in the air of the planet. The soil was red, and there were weird trees with even weirder fruits, an exotic beauty.

The Vilgaxian soldier led Lucky Girl into a huge clearing. He ordered her to sit down and wait. A few minutes later, Lucky Girl spotted something big in the sky flying toward the clearing. Something about the size of an airplane - maybe 30 meters?

As it approached, Lucky Girl and Benmummy finally realized what it was. A huge black dragon. And Hex himself was riding it, very comfortable.

"Crap, I think defeating Hex will not be as easy as I thought it would be..." Benmummy thought.

To be continued...