I thought I'd do a little something with this scene from "O Mother, Where Art Thou?"
Alternative Title: Ben gets caught in 4K by Ma Vreedle.
Disclaimer: I do not own Ben 10. Some bits of dialogue were taken directly from the episode and I do not claim to have written those lines myself.
"You don't get me back my son, I'm gonna take your sun!" Ma Vreedle continued her threat, one that she seemed rather serious about, and pointed her finger at Ben.
"I don't have a son," he informed with a grin. "I'm a kid. Hello!" Seriously, why'd she even think he'd have a son at this age? Sure, she was a clone or artificial being, but surely even she was aware that he was too young to have a kid yet. He didn't even have a girlfriend, and if he was honest, he didn't want one at the moment either.
The intergalactic criminal narrowed her eyes at him, her expression a mixture of confusion and frustration. "That ain't the kinda son I was talkin' 'bout, but while we're on the subject, didn'tchu tell me you was a mother when we first met?"
Ben froze, the smile on his face completely dropping. He'd forgotten he'd told her that when he was trying to distract her long enough to shut her cloning machine down. It had completely slipped his mind, but apparently, it hadn't slipped Ma Vreedle's.
Rook and Patelliday both stood off to the side, looking rather confused by the accusation. Who wouldn't? It was probably the strangest either of them had heard given that reproduction was handled by the females of most species in the galaxy. Not to mention the age.
"Mrs. Vreedle, is there any chance you meant father instead of mother?" Rook interrupted curiously. He was still too young to be a father, but at least her accusation would make a little more sense.
"A course not! He said mother when he told me," she pointed an accusing finger at the teenager, who still hadn't said a word. "That's why I found it so interestin' that he seemed so genuine when he said it."
"Wh-What?" Ben stuttered, obviously faking confusion in an attempt to recover from the dead giveaway reaction he'd had earlier. "I don't remember saying that."
"Really?" she raised a brow and leaned in closer, forcing the teen to lean back some to keep some space between them. "Then let me jog your memory, boy: I was tryin' ta drain yer planet's ocean to make my precious pretty boys when you and yer friends came along to stop me. You turned into a Necrofriggian and that's when you claimed you was a mother, too."
Ben blinked blankly, shocked that she had remembered the event so clearly. Then again, low intelligence didn't specifically mean a bad memory, but it had been worth a shot. "Oh, yeah," his eyes shifted to the wall and he forced an uneasy smile. "I did say that, didn't I?"
Rook raised a brow at his partner's strange behavior, still watching with interest. He seemed a lot more nervous now than he was just moments before, and the Revonnahgander had no clue why. From what he understood, Ben had never been afraid of Ma Vreedle like most other people, and he hadn't gained any fear of her either. Surely he wasn't afraid of admitting that he lied to her about being a mother? It was a very obvious lie, even to the likes of a Vreedle, so odds were, she already knew anyway. It wasn't like outright confirming it would do much besides lower the villain's opinion of him.
Ma Vreedle scoffed, pulling away from him, "I would hope you'd remember that without needin' to be reminded. How does a mother forget they're a mother?"
"It's complicated," he grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed that he had actually forgotten he was technically a mother. In his defense, he hadn't seen them in over a year and he had plenty of other things going on that kept him from thinking about them very often. Her wording hadn't helped. When he thought "son," he didn't think of a baby Necrofriggian.
Rook shared a confused look with Patelliday. Why'd he say that instead of just telling her the truth? He was talking as if he actually was a parent!
"What's so complicated about it? You forgot yer own blood!" she exclaimed. "Guess I shouldn't be so surprised," the Vreedle added with a frown, crossing her arms. "After all, you don't even know where the lil' angels are at."
"Hey!" Ben cried, now glaring at the woman. "That's not- They're not even-" he sputtered, struggling to come up with a rebuttal that didn't involve him explaining the whole thing. He hated that she was right. He only had a vague idea of their whereabouts. But that was how Necrofriggians did things. Unlike other species, the hatchlings are very independent from birth and don't rely on their parents, partially because they spent most of their time in the vacuum of space.
"Don't try ta make excuses!" the villain practically scolded him. "Those poor things are out there in space, fendin' for themselves! Yer kids deserve better!"
To the two plumbers' surprise, the teen scowled hard at Ma Vreedle, looking genuinely angry at what she had said. "For your information, they're Necrofriggians! They're meant to be in space so they can feed on solar plasma!" Ben informed her heatedly. As much as he didn't want to explain this in front of the entire Plumber Base, she'd hit a nerve with her last comment.
Rook and Patelliday shared another look, this time wide-eyed shock at the revelation. After a moment of staring at each other, the Revonnahgander pulled out his hand-held computer and began to silently search up information about Necrofriggians, the Magister next to him peering over his shoulder to read as well. His partner seemed far too serious for it to be a lie or a joke, but at the moment, he couldn't possibly see how it was true.
"Ain't you human?" Ma Vreedle narrowed her eyes skeptically at the boy. It was almost comical that she brought up the difference in species but not his age or gender.
"I am, but in case you hadn't noticed, I can turn into a whole lot of aliens," he held up his left arm, showing the Omnitrix as a reminder.
The Revonnahgander read the information presented under the reproduction section of the page, steadily getting less confused but more stunned. Magister Patelliday seemed to be experiencing the same feeling, and Rook was surprised he'd been silent the whole time.
"So you just transformed into one and had kids?" Ma Vreedle replied sarcastically, a wry smile following the remark.
Ben crossed his arms and looked away, frowning again. Though, this time it appeared to be less angry and more reluctant. "Kinda, yeah," he responded quietly, embarrassed to actually say that out loud. "Necrofriggians reproduce asexually, so it just sorta happened."
For the first time in the discussion, the Vreedle's smug expression turned to one of surprise. She hummed, seeming to think over the new information for a moment. "Well, those are some mighty strange circumstances," she admitted. "But enough about yer kids!" she exclaimed right away, her voice regaining the fury it had held before and snapping everyone back to the task at hand. "This is about my pretty boy! As I was sayin' before, I gots me a rocket gassed up and ready to launch at yer sun," this time, she pointed upwards at the diagram of the solar system, making her real target clear. "A Trilithium warhead smack into that sun of yers - instant negative fusion in the stellar core followed by quantum implosion. Boom!" she made a gesture with her arms for emphasis. It was funny how just about any Vreedle could speak so eloquently when they were talking about the specifics of destruction and mayhem.
"We've got all the information we need, Mrs. Vreedle," Magister Patelliday patted her on the back, discreetly planting a small tracking device on that spot, and led her to the center elevator. "Now, you try not to worry."
"Yer the ones oughta be worried iffen you don't find my pretty boy," she reminded, turning to glare at the plumbers before swiveling towards the elevator.
"She just threatened the destruction of Earth's life-sustaining star, and you let her walk out of here?" Rook asked incredulously. That was when his partner patted his arm then gestured to Ma Vreedle, who was squeezing into the elevator. Between her shoulders was a small device, blinking green. A tracking device.
"Textbook procedure," the Magister replied. "By letting her go, she leads us right to the warhead." He brought out the device that tracked the signal being sent out by the tracker and showed it to them.
"I am sorry I ever doubted you, sir," the Revonnahgander apologized solemnly, clearly ashamed of himself for questioning his superior.
Patelliday walked over to the console, grabbing the picture Ma Vreedle had left behind. "While I follow the bee to the honey, you locate her larva," he ordered, handing the picture over to Rook. "Um… no reference intended," he added with a chuckle when he remembered what had been revealed to them.
With a flat expression aimed at the Piscciss Volann, Ben reached into his pocket to answer his phone. "Hello?" He listened for a moment, following his partner and the Magister over to the elevator. "Sorry, mom. Just missed us," he lied, pushing the Revonnahgander into the elevator in a rush to leave.
Rook glanced at his partner out of the corner of his eye while he started the truck. He was unusually quiet, leaning against the door and staring out the window dourly. "Do you wish to talk about what happened?" he asked carefully, hoping to lighten the teen's mood and get a few answers in the process. They were on the clock, but they could talk about it while they drove around Bellwood looking for the missing Vreedle.
"No, I don't," he replied without hesitation.
"You just seem unusually upset," the alien explained, putting his hands on the steering wheel.
Ben remained silent for a moment, wondering if he should open up. It wasn't a subject he was very open about not just because he wanted only a select few to know but also because it was embarrassing looking back on it. Finally, he sighed, thinking it wouldn't hurt to tell him this one thing. "It's just what she said. By human standards, I am a bad parent," he began to explain, much to Rook's surprise. "I know Necrofriggians are different, but…"
"You cannot help but feel like you are not doing your best for them?" the Revonnahgander finished for him, smiling softly. It was clearly a sensitive subject, so he was glad his partner was actually being open with him about it.
"Yeah," he confirmed quietly, hesitantly shifting his gaze to the alien.
"Do not worry, Ben. It is very common for the parent Necrofriggian to not be around their own young. They are very peculiar in that sense, but I assure you it does not harm them in any way. If it did, then Necrofriggians would not behave that way," he reasoned. "Think of it like this: If you put a human in sub-zero temperatures for an extended period, it would be bad for them. But if you put a Necrofriggian or Polar Manzardill in sub-zero temperatures, they would be completely fine. You cannot judge the needs of one species based on an entirely different one."
"Thanks," Ben smiled some, appreciating the reassurance. He knew all of that in the back of his head, but it helped to hear someone else confirm it. "That helps."
"You know," Rook started thoughtfully, "you could always visit them. Doing so would not stunt their development."
The teen's smile turned wry, already having an idea of why he'd suggested that. "You just want to see them, don't you?" he teased.
"Perhaps," the Revonnahgander answered cryptically, still grinning.
After remembering the Little Chills and that Ben had technically told Ma Vreedle, I knew I had to do something with this scene.