Gwen woke up to the annoying ringing of the phone. She search blindly in the darkness of her room, and when she finally found it, it wasn't an alarm that was waking her. It was a call from an unknown number
Usually she was completely ignorant of unknown numbers, but thanks to the fact that she had just got up, answered it without thinking much
"Hi?"
"Gwen, Thanks God, you answered it." It was his grandfather, Max, and he was not listening at all at good
"Is something wrong, grandpa?"
"It´s about Ben." The redhead pursed her lips. Her cousin had distanced himself from her since she had left the plumbing team and had concentrated on college, although she understood that everyone had their own obligations it was annoying that he did not take the time to chat with her from time to time
Phones existed for a reason, Doofus
"What happens?"
"Ben is hurt. Doctors believe he won't make it." A chill ran down Gwen's spine that immediately woke her up
By the time he could reason he was halfway to finishing putting on his clothes
"Where are you?"
"I'll send you the location"
The call was cut off and Gwen didn't have to wait five seconds before receiving the location, so he teleported himself as fast as the spell allowed. When Grandpa Max showed up he still had his sight on the phone
"Grandpa"
"Gwen, thanks for coming"
Grandpa Max looked more worn than she remembered. He wasn't that fat and he definitely had more gray hair and wrinkles, he looked like a mess
"Were is Ben?"
"In surgery, the doctors will come in a few minutes"
The redhead bit her lip again, brushing unruly strands of hair out of her eyes and trying to think clearly. Whatever they were doing must have been serious since Ben was never hurt, not as a child and not as an adult.
"What happened?". Her grandfather flopped into a nearby chair, sighing and looking like his real age for the first time since Gwen remembered
"It was in a raid. We were tracking an intergalactic gang and Ben was undercover. Things got bad and we had a head-on confrontation. They had a surprise for us and Ben took most of the damage"
That sounded like a classic Ben. Sacrificing himself despite being arrogant
"Was anyone else injured?". Maybe if she could help someone else the restlessness in his chest would go away
"No, the few that were slightly injured were healed a few hours ago. Ben is the only one injured"
Again, he gritted his teeth and leaned against a wall. Waiting was the only thing he could do and it was something he hated with all his being
Fortunately only a few minutes later the doctor emerged, looking tired but very satisfied
"Mr. Tennyson, your grandson is finally stable. We will move him to an observation room for a few hours to recover"
Because most alien races shared technology, the plumbers' facilities were far beyond anyone else on planet earth, healing from surgery would only take two hours, tops.
"Do you need someone to be present?"
"It is more of a recommendation for when the patient wakes up to see a familiar face"
"I´ll stay"
-.-.-.-.-.-.
The room was sterile when Ben opened his eyes. Sterile was bad. Sterile meant hospital
"Hello, Doofus". And sterile meant Gwen, apparently
"Hi, Gwen, what are you doing here?". It took him less than a second to identify his wounds and to realize that most of them were already sutured, the only thing that prevented him from full mobility was the scar that was forming on his chest, suspiciously close to the heart
"They called me in the middle of the night saying that my cousin was mortally wounded. Did you expect me to stay at home?"
"I don't know, you know I always get up". It was true, it wasn't the first or the last time he had be in this situation. Although Gwen was a strange factor
Since he had left the plumbers things were strange. Kevin had shown his true colors as soon as Gwen left and Ben had been left alone and not knowing very well what to do. So he had a lot on his plate and very little time to get used to, which had left him less time to waste and less time for everything, actually.
It didn't take long for things in his private life to fall apart and Ben couldn't blame anyone for that, but he could definitely see how appealing it was to end up as his version 10,000.
In fact, being in human form was starting to feel strange.
"The others say they are starting to call you Ben 10,000". The accusation aired and they both fell silent
"Gwen, we are no longer children. We know what it takes to be a plumber, that's why you left, I don't have that option. Enjoy your life and stop meddling in mine". The tone hauntingly reminded him of Ben 10,000, but it was the truth
If you didn't do anything for plumbers you had no right to judge plumbers, he had learned it a long time ago
"I'm just saying that we both know how that future ends"
"With people safe, Grandpa alive and you married to Levin. By the way, where is that little bastard?". Gwen raised an eyebrow
"Why do you think I know where he is?"
"For the same reason you're here". They would always be a team for the redhead, it was an admirably awkward thing to see, but Ben could understand the feeling
Or at least he could understand it a few years ago. Before Kevin decided it was better to be a dealer than a plumber
"It's okay. Apparently he was preparing to make a delivery at Alpha Centauri."
"The bastard learned well." Kevin knew that as long as he didn't do anything that required his attention, Ben would leave him alone. If he was only selling guns and armaments to minor gang groups there was no need for Ben to meddle and normal plumbers couldn't keep track of Kevin for long.
Basically he would give himself the life of a king as long as he didn't do anything stupid. But Ben knew the temptation to do something stupid would eventually win out, no matter how many luxuries it had.
"We should stop it-Ben saw it for what it was and couldn't help but snort"
"I don't have time for petty salespeople and you're no longer a plumber. Listen, Gwen, the days when the three of us were stupid teenagers fighting Forever King's and going out to parties are over. Accept it before it consumes you"
"How is it consuming you?" Gwen trembled a little at the sound of metal bending under Ben's hand. A human hand
"Have a good life, Gwen"
The redhead frowned as her cousin transformed into XLR8 and was out of sight before she could blink. Things were looking too much like the future they had seen as children, only in this future Gwen could not see her cousin leaving aside that attitude
-.-.-.-.-.
It would have been years until they met again
It was a family celebration, one they hadn't had since they were little but that their parents had decided to relive since neither she nor Ben stopped by often enough to keep their parents happy.
Gwen considered not attending since she was about to make a breakthrough regarding her fifth talisman, however, her mother's insistence added to her guilty conscience and she had finally decided to come for the old days and because probably they wouldn't see her until next year from now
The little party had started around six in the afternoon and Ben had been three hours late, but it was nothing that Gwen was surprised about.
Now he was much wider and had a beard. Like Ben 10,000. In fact, Gwen had heard rumors that her cousin was preparing to unveil the aliens to the world in no time.
His eyes were duller and his mouth more cynical, but that was to be expected.
"Hi, Gwendolyn, time no see"
"Gwendolyn?"
"I heard that you are about to get the fifth talisman, so I suppose you are getting closer too" the redhead made a face. It was true and she was not proud of it, but it was the only way she had been able to advance her research
"Yes, I suppose you're right"
-.-.-.-.-.
Kevin ran as president, with Archie as his right hand man, and he was inviting her to a celebration at his mansion
Gwen went for the old days
And honestly, she didn't expect to see Ben there
He looked completely out of place, transformed into Four Arms and sticking out like a sore thumb amidst the sea of elegant suits and cordial smiles.
Obviously her cousin would ignore all politics, after all Gwendolyn didn't think she could be subtle with her words like Four Arms
"I didn't expect to see you here, Ben"
"Me neither." Four Arms' husky voice might have scared everyone else, but Gwen just rolled her eyes.
"Grandpa?"
"All damn plumbers. We have to be on good terms with the new president-Four Arms voice came out as a deep growl from his chest, causing a couple of windows near them to faintly rumble.
-Well, I thought Ben 10,000 was working alone-the mockery was clear in her voice and made everyone close to them look at her in disbelief, believing that she was crazy for making fun of a fully mature and obviously irritated Tetramand
They were probably right, but for Gwen it would be worth the death to make fun of her cousin
"I work alone. The fact that I was chosen to play politics is temporary"
"Obviously, considering how you're doing this time"
"They are there!. My best friends!" Kevin had grown into a short, fat, bald man. Completely different from his teenage self. Gwen suspected the sudden change was due to worrying about having to sleep with one eye open, but she no longer cared enough to meddle.
"We are not friends, Levin." The huge Tetramand looked like a giant compared to the short, squat man Kevin was now, so intimidating him was too easy.
"Come on, dude. That was years ago!"
"hn"
Gwen and Kevin watched the Four Arms leave, their steps strong, and the redhead couldn't help but sigh.
He was becoming eerily indifferent to his cousin's change
-.-.-.-.-.
The next time Gwen saw her cousin, he wasn't as nice as everyone else.
The redhead had been studying some ancient ruins somewhere in the world when she found a whole plan for a war between two races that weren't important enough for Gwen to remember their names.
She remembered the thrill of doing more than studying. She remembered the sense of adventure roaring through her like when she was a child. She recalled the gratifying feeling he felt when people thanked him for something they thought was impossible to do.
The latter was not possible since things had gotten out of hand and had caused him to end up with a spear buried deep in his arm and a warning to deliver an item X, which was very important to the people he was trying to help, or they would destroy their entire culture
Gwendolyn knew when she reached her limitations, having a direct confrontation by herself against an entire race surpassed those limits.
"... So, will you help?"
"Of course I'll help. You should have told me from the beginning". The redhead snorted
"Not everything has to be solved by the great Ben 10,000"
"Gwendolyn, this is serious business. Thousands of innocent people will die because your pride prevented you from calling me in the first place". Gwen's stomach twisted in discomfort and, before she could answer, the call was over.
The race that threatened to destroy the planet had arrived the next day, armed to the teeth, and with little intention of negotiating.
Ben finished with all of them in less than half an hour using a combination of Big Guy and Humungousaur.
It was terrifying to realize that all those lives perished at the hands of a mere mortal
In the end, what was a majestic armada of battle had ended in nothing but fire and blood at the feet of his cousin.
And worst of all, Gwendolyn knew she could have stopped them if she had simply called in the plumbers to have them handle it in a non-violent manner.
"I hope this never has to happen again, Gwendolyn"
-.-.-.-.-.-.
Ben 10,000 was now a walking legend and, to Gwendolyn, he had long since ceased to matter.
The redhead had locked herself deep into her research and studies so long ago that she even struggled to remember what day she was on.
However, fate was very cruel to everyone, since it had ended up being requested to decipher some lost language of a civilization completely different from that of humans on a distant planet for plumbers.
Gwendolyn had refused by the time she got the call, but Kevin had come to talk to her and surprisingly, had managed to convince her
Human interactions were strange to her now, but she had managed to work on the team she had been assigned to and they were able to successfully hit the target.
A goal that, of course, had masterfully surpassed them due to millennia of planning and superior technology. And of course Ben had ended up on the battlefield
The plumbers had an orgasm when they saw Ben 10,000 himself among them, yet Gwendolyn simply felt bitter
-Gwendolyn-
-Ben-
The battle was daunting. A warrior race with their physiology and brains uniquely designed for warfare created by a mad scientist seeking power who had hundreds of thousands of years of planning. The situation was just ridiculous to think about
Obviously Ben 10,000 didn't care about any of that and finished the fight in an hour with a combination of Lodestar and Feedback
As the young plumbers fainted at the huge display of power, Gwendolyn and Ben looked into each other's eyes, scowling.
Neither of us could recognize the other
-.-.-.-.-.-.
The next time they saw each other it was not on a battlefield or in some ruins lost by time, but at Gwen's wedding.
Despite all her efforts, the redhead had ended with Kevin. If Gwendolyn was honest ended with Kevin, it was purely at his insistence, since she had long since traded her feelings for a long-forgotten enchantment.
Everyone in her family had been happy and obviously she had had to fake the same happiness, which was more tiring than annoying, and she had had to yell and giggle with her mother and aunt
On the day of the wedding Ben was present. As a human. In a black suit, with an elegantly trimmed beard and looking as cold and hard as she felt inside.
He had almost been surprised that it had appeared, but it was Ben. He always showed up when needed
"Ben, what a surprise to see you". They both understood the meaning and neither of them cared enough to point it out. Mere memories buried deep between weariness and indifference
"Yes, well, my cousin is getting married. You only live once". The smiles that were given were, at best, an empty shell of what they used to be in their youth. It might as well be grimaces and neither of us would notice the difference
"I hope so" Kevin had intervened. He was still short and fat, yet he looked much older than everyone present put together. An indication that the position of president was not enviable
Gwendolyn laughed, wondering if this was what she was expected to do.
"That will be." Ben had never forgiven Kevin for giving up the plumbing and it showed from miles away. While the height difference was not as great as with Four Arms, for Kevin, it seemed to have the same effect
"Listen, Ben. Leaving like I did was-"
"There's no need anymore. The bridge burned down many years ago" Kevin grimaced and Gwendolyn could almost see the two of them as teenagers, smiling at each other, after taking down a Forever King's point guard.
Sure, before that image caught fire and slowly burned. Gwendolyn no longer even intended to pretend she cared about this topic.
"Ben, it was good to see you. Kevin, let's say hi to my mother". Maybe it came out a little rougher than Kevin was used to, since he jumped and trembled slightly before complying with his order
Ben didn't even flinch, but that was to be expected.
"It was also nice to see you, Gwendolyn"
As the redhead walked away from her cousin she wondered, for a moment, what their lives had turned into
Before deciding to drop the topic. After all, there was no turning back now
-.-.-.-.-.-.
Ben and Gwendolyn saw each other again after years of not seeing each other
And neither of us seemed to care much
"Things almost happened the same, right?"
"Yes. Although, if I remember correctly, you had a son last time"
"And Kevin was still a plumber with a bionic arm." They both scoffed. The image of the fat little president fighting side by side with Ben was nothing more than a cheap joke by now
"Well, at least we know it's not the same"
"Shit, what happened to us?"
"We grew"
"Is this what it is to be an adult? It would be better if all the shit I've done at least be seen for what it is"
"Things are never forever. One day no one will remember the Ben 10,000. Just as no one remembers Ben Tennyson"
"I guess so. Well, take care, Gwendolyn"
"You too, Ben"
The disturbing thing about it was that no one had changed their expression or tone during the entire conversation.
This was the life of the legendary hero, Ben 10,000, and the brightest witch in the entire galaxy, Gwendolyn
That in another life they can find happiness
Sorry for the mistakes but english not is my native language
I hope you enjoy
Comments, hate, I love read it