Chapter 22: A Long Way From Home

Lili yawned as she made her way down the stairs in a desperate search for coffee. All she had on was a robe. One of the few good things about not having her daughter around during the summer was that she could get caffeinated before she got dressed.

One of the very few good things. It had only been a few days, but she missed her daughter.

Now that Gwen was gone, Lili missed all the little things that the two of them used to do. Especially how they used to sit down and plan out Gwen's days. It always made her feel so close to Gwen when they sat down and made the charts. All the little debates, the arguments, even deciding what color markers to use as they juggled activities. There were always so many activities. Gwen was always so curious, always finding something new to do. Dance, horseback riding, science clubs – well, class clubs of all kinds - and karate.

Karate was the only real surprise. Frankly she thought that Gwen would take one class then walk out because it was so... not her. Instead she loved it. That was the first time Lili ever wondered if she knew her daughter as well as she thought she did.

Three years later Gwen was still doing karate, but the charts were gone.

Sometimes it felt like Gwen was already gone, too. Like she had grown up and moved out and Lili never even noticed until it was too late.

"What's wrong?" Frank asked as he came down the stairs fresh from the shower and dressed for work.

"I'm just missing Gwen."

"Me too." Frank said. He smiled a little. "Do you think that she and Ben are driving Dad nuts yet?"

"Oh, yes."

Though, maybe not. Her nephew was finally starting to grow up. She loved him, but Ben was a brat when he was younger. Not that it was all his fault, of course. Sandra let him get away with far too much. If he had gotten even half of the guidance that Gwen had gotten... Well, he wasn't as smart as Gwen, but he was close. She saw so much wasted potential in him. If only Sandra had just pushed him a little bit more...

And maybe if she had pushed Gwen a little bit less...

She never noticed just how crowded those charts had gotten before something Sandra said finally made her look. No wonder Gwen looked so tired all of the time. No wonder Gwen didn't come to her anymore for help.

Gwen might not want her help anymore, but Lili still had to try. "I have to call Harvard today to see if they're still offering a summer tour for kids. I'm sure that your father would take her."

"No doubt," Frank said. His mouth twitched like it always did when he thought of something that he didn't think she would want to hear. "Isn't it a little early to worry about that? She's only twelve."

"It's never too early to think about her future," Lili said. She knew the second she first held Gwen that her daughter could have a glorious one, and everything Lili had done since was to make sure that she would. Gwen was already good at so much. She was in so many clubs that sometimes she pictured her daughter in the Oval Office. She shook the thought out of her head before her husband could see it in her eyes and start humming 'Hail to the Chief' again. "Aren't you worried?"

"About Harvard? Not yet. " Frank shrugged and looked uncomfortable. "Right now, I'm worried that this will be the summer she discovers boys and does something stupid."

Lili laughed out loud. "That's the only thing I'm not worried about. She has Ben with her, and he's even more overprotective than YOU."

Ben proved that weeks ago when Frank and she had taken the kids to the movies for their weekly Friday hangout and a couple of punks had made catcalls at Gwen. Her daughter didn't care in the least, but Ben got so angry that Lili was afraid that he was going to go after the idiots by himself. Thankfully, they took one look at him and ran off.

Lili didn't quite know when or why the two cousins had become friends, but it was nice to know that there was someone else watching out for Gwen. They balanced each other out so well. Ben finally had someone pushing him, and it seemed like he was the only one that Gwen could relax with. Well, him and her friend from school. Lili finished her first cup of coffee and got up to get a second. "I never thought I would say this, but I'm glad that Ben's started to hanging around over here. I'm going to miss seeing him tomorrow."

"Gwen is happier when he's around," Frank said as he walked up behind her. Lili let out a little squeak as he pulled her back and his hands went to the ties of her robe. "But they aren't around right now. And I don't have anything to do at work that can't wait until this afternoon."

His mouth went to the side of her neck and she grinned. This was the best part of Gwen being gone for the summer. "This afternoon?"

"Maybe tomorrow."

"You do feel a little warm," she said with a laugh. "But what about Harvard?"

"Gwen's got her whole future ahead of her. Harvard can wait a day."

To her surprise, she nodded. They kissed and had just made it to the bottom of the stairs when the phone rang. Neither cared all that much. Not when the tie finally came loose.

"Lili? Frank are you there?!" Sandra's voice came out of the answering machine. Lili was all set to ignore the call until later, but she never heard her sister-in-law sound so frantic. They both stopped in mid grope and stared at the phone. "Did Gwen call last night?! We can't reach them! Did-"

Frank hurried over and picked up the phone. "Sandra? Calm down, I can barely - No. No, she didn't call. We didn't really think she would. Why? Yeah, I think they do. I don't know how he would get to Aunt Vera's house without driving through..." Lili watched her husband stagger and grab the wall, but she didn't panic until he turned and she saw the worry eating at him. "What channel? Turn on the TV!"

Lili hurried over without worrying about her robe and grabbed the remote. It took her two tries to hit to on button. "What channel?"

"Just turn it on."

She did, and the remote slipped out of her hands.

Carl sat on the couch in front of the television with the remote in one hand and his telephone in the other while Sandy paced behind him. There were only two constants in his life right now. He never stopped clicking the remote, and the phone never rang.

"The attack lasted – Hundreds believed – President advises all non-essential - Military put on full alert – Emergency meeting – Protesters gathering outside of -"

He turned off the television one second before it would have driven him mad.

"Thank you," Sandy said with a faked calm that he knew came from her repeating mantras in her head over and over. "The stress wasn't helping anyone."

It only took a few seconds to realize that the TV might have been bad, but the silence was worse.

He picked up the phone and dialed Aunt Vera's again just to do something. He didn't expect it to go through this time any more than it had the last hundred. When it didn't, he would call everyone's cellphones again even though their voicemails were already full of frantic messages.

He didn't expect it, so the call went through.

"Carl? Is that you? I've been trying to call but I didn't know the phones were back," Max said after the second ring. His father sounded like he had a cold, but besides that he sounded normal. Not as cheerful as usual, but not panicked.

"Dad?" Carl said as he finally got to breath again. Sandy spun and raced to get the other phone. "Dad. Are you guys okay?"

"We're as good as can be expected," Max said. Carl thought he heard a pause in his father's answer, but it must have been the phone lines. There was a click as Sandy picked up the other phone. "The aliens didn't get anywhere near Vera's. Do you want to talk to Ben?"

"Hi Dad, Mom," Ben said a moment later in the exact same flat tone he used after a very bad day at school.

"Is everything okay, Ben?" Carl asked.

"Yeah."

Sandy broke in. "You aren't watching the news, are you? I know you like to, but you shouldn't. Not today."

It was one of Ben and Gwen's weirder hobbies. The two were obsessed with the news. To the point that they would even call each other up if they saw something interesting. It was an odd thing for a couple of twelve-year-olds to do, but it wasn't really a battle worth fighting.

"Can't. TV's broken," Ben said. His voice was still flat even though those two words usually sent him into a panic.

Carl felt a knot grow in his stomach. "Ben, tell me the truth. Are you okay?"

The line was quiet for a second. "I'm fine."

Carl's stomach tightened. Something had happened, but he didn't sound hurt. Neither did Dad. Sandy beat him to it, "What about Gwen?"

He heard Ben inhale quick followed by a clatter as the phone hit the ground. "Ben? Ben?" Oh, God. He put his head between his knees as he waited for the worst.

"Carl, Sandy?" Dad said as he picked up the phone.

"What happened to Gwen?" Carl asked.

Dad stayed quiet for a long time. "We were in a fender bender and Gwen got banged up a little. Everyone's going to be okay, but between that and what's happening the kids are a little shaken up."

"Stop lying to me!" Michelle shouted at her best friend in the world. She had to fight down the urge to throw the phone away. "Stop saying you're fine over and over and over again! Do you think that this is the first time I've gotten a call like this?"

This felt just like the call her Father had made three years ago. It was right after the news announced that his convoy was hit by rebels in some country whose name she couldn't remember except that it seemed to go on forever. He said the same words in the exact same only-half-there tone that Gwen was using now. And she believed him then. She didn't know any better until she heard her mom tell one of her friends that the whole time he was telling them he was fine he still had a bullet in his arm.

"I hate it when my father makes these calls. I know that he has to pretend because I'm his daughter and I have to pretend because he has more important things to worry about, but I hate it. I have to do it for him, but I can't... Craz – Gwen, just tell me what happened. Please."

Gwen was quiet for so long that Michelle was afraid that she'd hung up. Then she heard a rustle and she knew that Gwen was sitting down. "We were still in the city during the attack," she said, and her voice was very, very far away. She paused, and when she came back she sounded more like herself. "We were stuck behind some road construction when one of those drones flew by and blew up a building right next to us. It was... Grandpa gunned it and just we went through all of the cones. He didn't stop until we got to my aunt's house."

"But you're okay? You and Ben and your Grandpa?"

"We're..." Gwen's voice cracked. "We're here. The phones are still crazy. It might be a while..."

"Of course things are crazy, you're down there." Michelle said with a relieved laugh and wiped her eyes. "And thank you. Thank you for telling me the truth."

The lousy phone line chose that second to go out again.

Vera watched Gwen very carefully reach up and push the off button on the phone. She didn't fight when Vera took the phone out of her hand. "Is there anyone else you want to call?"

Gwen only answer was to put her head on her knees as she tried to tuck herself even deeper into the corner between the breakfast bar and the wall.

"Ben?" Ben didn't even turn. After he dropped the phone on his parents' call he went to sit on the couch and had not moved since. In a very sad way, this was progress. They were together in the same room at least.

Vera just wished she knew what had happened. Max told her what he knew, which wasn't very much, and neither of the kids would talk. Not even to each other. It felt wrong. After last night, after how she had seen them act on the picnic table with each other she'd been afraid that she would find them cuddled up together somewhere just for comfort.

Not all that afraid, at least as long as cuddling was all it was. She wouldn't have said a word. Not today.

She never expected this.

"If either of you want to talk," Vera said, desperate to be of some help, "I'm right here. Ben, I promise not to talk about bird calls. You can tell me anything. I swear. And you don't have to - " She caught herself before she said the word 'lie,' but they both heard it and flinched anyway.

They had made three phone calls that lasted maybe ten minutes all together, but Vera lost count of all the lies they told. But she wouldn't forget the pain she saw in their eyes as they told each one.

She knew that lying was a part of this life. Plumber training was basically lie early, lie often, and lie even more if you get caught, but Max...

Vera told her son the truth – mostly – about what she did as soon as she thought he was old enough to handle it. And he told Joel. And they told their wives. Not to get them involved – though that was a nice surprise - but for support. She still didn't understand why Max wouldn't tell Carl and Frank about everything, but he had friends he could talk to who were in the know.

He had her.

Who did Ben and Gwen have besides each other and their Grandfather? And if they couldn't talk to each other...

Max didn't want her to tell them, but he was outside right now. How could she expect them to talk if she wouldn't? Not that she would tell them everything, but.. "I know about the Omnitrix, you two, and the magic. And - " she caught herself. No. They should work out whatever was going on between them for themselves. Not hear it from her. Besides, what if she was wrong? "You don't have to hide anything from me if you want to talk."

It got their attention at least. "How?" Gwen asked, her voice cracking.

And Vera had to tell a lie of her own. "Mostly from your Grandfather. And from Gordon."

Gwen looked at her for another moment before she looked down, but Ben just shook his head at the whole idea and sank back down into the couch. Ben would never talk to her, but Gwen might. She let out a breath and hoped that telling them had been a good idea.

It looked like it was.

Unless this was just one more shock that they didn't need. They were still so pale. The alien medical nanotech they were both pumped full of did wonders - without it they would both be in the hospital. Ben for a few days, Gwen for weeks - but it could get overwhelmed. It very nearly was last night.

She never should have pushed Max into letting them help. They had almost...

Ben was alive because the Omnitrix decided to play nice for once, or at least that's how Max put it. She used the term miracle, but he wouldn't. The machine picked at the very last second the one alien form that had a chance of surviving being thrown to the road at three hundred miles an hour without destroying the Rust Bucket on the way out.

Gwen was still here because of an alien crash field, and even then she came out of it with a fractured leg, a concussion and a stomach so badly bruised that she shouldn't have been able to move, even with the nanites. Neither of them should have ever been able to do any of the things they did last night.

When she had finally gotten to that shopping center after the fighting was over there was a group of Plumbers already there to retrieve the Rust Bucket and Vilgax. She knew something was wrong when she saw the Plumbers glancing over at the two kids. She thought that they were worried about them until she saw the looks in their eyes.

Every last Plumber there was terrified. Terrified of two children who were sitting on top of a broken bit of wall and shivering together.

And the kids knew it.

She looked at the two of them and tried to think of something she could say or do that would help, but nothing came to mind.

Thankfully, Max always had a sense of timing. He came through the door with a big cardboard box in his hands. "Good news, guys. Our ride's lined up for tonight. Even better, Albright's brought us some treasure from the Rust Bucket. Looks like some good stuff, too. Come and get it," he said as he carried it over to the table.

Ben and Gwen stood up, and for the first time they actually looked - well, not happy, but at the very least interested as they walked up. Maybe she'd been wrong, Vera thought. Maybe they just needed something to focus on that wasn't last night. If so, she had a whole garage full of boxes they could go through. There was stuff out there that was strange enough to even get Ben's attention.

The two still didn't look at each other, but they stood so close together that they were almost touching. Gwen was the first to dive into the box, and she made a face as she pulled out a pile of Max's Hawaiian shirts. It was surprise more than anything that made her ask, "Won't anything destroy these?"

"Remember the one we tried to set on fire?" Ben asked a second later. His voice was rough and hesitant, but he talked.

"Wait, you did what?" Max asked, and he tried to sound outraged, but Vera saw him wink at her.

"We threw it right into the camp fire. When we came out the next day it was fine." Gwen gave the shirt a poke. "What are these things made of?"

"Style," Max said.

"That's what I thought when I bought you the first one," Vera said.

And Gwen gave her a horrified look. "This is your fault?"

Vera shrugged. "You didn't see him in polyester." That got the desired wince out of both kids.

"I like my shirts."

Ben ignored his Grandfather and asked, "What about the cooking?"

"What about the cooking? Mother taught us how to cook. Waste not -"

"-want not," Max finished. "And what's wrong with my cooking?"

"Nothing!" Ben and Gwen said together as they gave each other a look.

It was just for a second, but it was still enough for the knots in Vera's stomach started to untie. "Is there anything else good in there?"

Ben reached down and pulled out a couple of leather-bound journals. "I think these are yours, Dweeb."

Gwen nodded and looked surprised as she took them. The books weren't even scorched. She very carefully opened them and flipped through the pages. "They were in the back. I never thought that they would..."

"They must be lucky," Vera said. They were so lucky that it would take more than a missile and some fire to hurt those books.

Gwen even more carefully put them down. Ben sighed, but he waited for her to take her turn to search the box. She pulled out some electronic contraption that Vera had never seen before, but Ben's eyes lit up when he saw it. He pulled it out of her hands and pushed a button at the top. "Still has my saves and everything!"

After that the things got smaller. Max's old eagle scout compass, A small metal box that had a sticky note on it that read 'laptop hard drive', and a photograph of the three of them standing in front of the Rust Bucket as it was getting towed away. The kids were making faces at each other while Max stood there proudly. It was just slightly charred on one edge and Max immediately claimed it. Under that were pieces from board games, and at the bottom...

"My old tape recorder!" Ben said.

Gwen reached over and grabbed it. "You mean MY old tape recorder." It was so much like old times that Vera's eyes watered.

"So not!"

"Is too! I lost it years ago. I had to buy another one."

"If you have another one, then you don't need this one!"

Gwen rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine. You can have it. Just let me make sure my old notes aren't on the tape." She was smiling just a little as her finger hit the play button.

And then Ben's voice said, "Gwen, you did a good job."

Even Gwen looked shocked when the recorder shattered against the wall. Then the shock broke and she collapsed. Vera knelt as quickly as she could to pull the sobbing girl to her. "Its okay, dear. Everything will be okay."

Ben stared down at them as every bit of life he'd gotten back in his face drained away. He reached out to touch Gwen's shoulder, but his hand just shook in the air just above her shoulder for a moment before he pulled it away. He hung his head and stumbled for the hallway. Just before he was out of sight Vera saw him turn and punch a hole through the wall. Then he was gone.

The noise snapped Max out of the daze he had been in. He hurried after Ben, calling his name the whole while, but it was too late. Vera heard a door slam shut.

The kids had been so close to – well, not being back to normal. That would have taken a lot longer, but they were at least seeing that normal was possible. To watch it all slip away...

Vera kissed the top of Gwen's head and gently rocked the girl back and forth as she kept repeating, "Its okay, Dear. Everything will be okay."

She prayed that she was telling the truth.

Max watched the blue starship drop out of the clouds without a noise. Where as Vilgax's ship had been all sharp angles, this one was graceful, like it belonged in the sky. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Vera?"

His sister shook her head. "Not this time, Max. Somebody's got to be here to pick you up when you get back." She gave the two kids hugs and pieces of hard candy before she walked across the desert sand to get back to her car.

There as only the slightest hum as the ship landed, and that noise was lost in the roar of jet engines as four fighter jets did a low fly by. The airlock door opened and Xylene stormed out even before the ramp was all the way down. All three of her eyes narrowed with rage as she walked up to Max and he tried to ignore how her blue scales caught the light. She was just close enough to human looking to be beautiful. "Your people have become very rude, Max. I was threatened thirteen times while I made my approach, even after I used all the codes you gave me. What happened?"

"Vilgax." That was all Max had to say.

Xylene stopped and the two tendrils that came out of the sides of her head quivered. "I have heavy weapons inside. Where is he?"

Max opened his mouth, but Ben beat him to it.

"Dead." It was the first time Ben had come out and said it. And then he added, "Except in the watch."

Max turned and looked at him. "What do you mean?"

Ben shrugged. "He grabbed the Omnitrix when I was... He grabbed it and it flashed yellow. That's what the yellow light usually means."

"Did you-" Gwen asked as she hugged at her middle. Max had checked the bruises on her stomach before they left Vera's. Even after a day, they were still an ugly purple. It must have been torture for her to wear a seat belt, but she never complained.

"No," Ben said. "Never. Even if I wasn't trying to take it off I would never be him. I'd delete him if I could. Let him stay dead."

Xylene looked at Max. "We've thought he was dead before. How can you be..."

"We're sure," Max said.

"I need more than that, Max. Do you have any idea how many people will doubt that he's gone? I need details."

Ben looked at the ground. "I can tell you what it looked like when the crystals started ripping out of him if you want. Or his last words."

Max's heart broke when he thought of what Ben had seen, but it was the last that made something itch in the back of his head. After Ben had accidentally hit him in the nose - he knew it was no accident, but he also knew it wasn't his grandson's fault and he would be damned if he let Ben blame himself for even a second - after the accident, when the pain was starting to go down to just blinding he had heard Ben saying something about... What was it? "What did he tell you?"

"He said -" Ben started, but he shook his head again and his voice choked up. "He didn't say anything. He just screamed and died."

"Ben?" Gwen asked. Max could barely hear the word, but he could hear the doubt in it.

But Ben shook his head and turned away from her, too. "No. It doesn't matter. Let's get this over with." He stomped up the ramp and disappeared into the ship. Gwen followed a second later.

Max watched them go and thought that they looked even more hurt now than they had before. He had hoped that the box of stuff from the Rust Bucket would have cheered them up a little. And it did, but he should have checked what was inside first. He should thrown out that damned recorder.

Ben and Gwen were so strong. They were the bravest people he ever met. He knew that they would get over this eventually. Hopefully.

"Was it his first kill?" Xylene asked.

Max nodded. He knew that was part of the problem, but not all of it. If they would just talk to him! All of their lives he had been the one they came to with their problems. Until now. He tried to think of what Vilgax might have said. A threat, no doubt. Or maybe he'd been gloating.

Gloating.

Vilgax told Ben that it was the Rust Bucket that blew up, not the drone. Ben thought that they were dead.

That's why he killed Vilgax. That's why-

Xylene let out a breath. "Mine was a civilian who ducked the wrong way. I still see him sometimes. Yours?"

Max blinked and lost his train of thought. "A rogue Fourarms. Second day on the job."

"Vilgax is really dead?"

"They are shoving the bits of him into different stasis pods, just in case, even as we speak."

"Good." She walked up the ramp and Max followed. He waved at Vera and waited until she drove off before he closed the ramp. Xylene looked at him. "A lot of people are going to call Ben a hero for this when I tell them. He's going to be famous."

Max shook his head. "Don't tell them it was him."

"But - "

"It would just make him a target."

"He already is. Just having the Omnitrix makes him a target..." She frowned and he could see the worry in her eyes. "If you didn't need help to fight Vilgax, why did you call me?"

"We need a ride."

Her three eyes went wide and she raised her hands. "No."

"You are the only one I know who might know where Azmuth is. He's the only one who can take that watch off. Unless you?"

"No. He never told me how. The little troll doesn't share much. And he isn't happy with me."

"I'll owe you one."

Xylene sighed and her tendrils hung flat as she repeated, "He's really dead?"

"He is."

"Then when we're done with this you and I are going to a bar and getting very, very drunk."

Gwen made the short walk out of Azmuth's laboratory and looked around. She spotted a rock a little way away from the entrance that looked like it would be comfortable enough to sit on. She walked through a field of little black plants that came up to her calves to get to it. It wasn't until she was half way through that she saw the way the light shined on their wet looking leaves.

It was like walking through a field of rainbows.

She sat down and watched everything. The sun was huge and high overhead. It burned with the same color as a sunset at home. It should have been hot under a sun that big, but the air was chilly. The clouds looked like pink cotton candy in the red light as they passed by.

It was her first alien world.

And her last.

It was over.

Ben looked so surprised when the Omnitrix came off. Like up until that second even he thought he was going to change his mind. If it wasn't for the white stripe around his wrist it would have been like the last three years had never happened. She hoped that it would tan soon, so that he wouldn't have the constant reminder.

The heroing was done.

They were a team. She knew that she could do it without him, just like she knew he could do it without her, but she wouldn't. She made a promise, and she made it for a good reason. It was too dangerous. They'd had too many close calls together.

One too many.

She was going to miss helping people.

Sleep would be possible again, though. Real sleep without having to worry about being woken up at all hours. School should be easier. Life should be easier.

The lies were done.

Just today she had lied to her parents when they had called frantic with worry after Vilgax's attack. They believed her when she said she was fine. That she was safe. They always believed her because they trusted her. They shouldn't. She hated lying, but she had gotten good at it over the years.

Except with Michelle, who didn't believe a word at first. Michelle went hysterical and Gwen almost told her everything then. About Phoenix, about Vilgax and the magic and the Omnitrix.

Almost.

Admitting that she was in the city during Vilgax's attack was easy. Making up the rest of it was hard. She didn't even remember what she said now, but she remembered Michelle thanked her for telling the truth after that. Her friend thanked her for lying to her. Gwen just hung up because she couldn't stand anymore.

She was tired of lying.

It had only been a few minutes but it was already starting to feel like a dream. The brave knight and the sorceress fighting together to protect people. Until it counted, anyway. Until it mattered. When it mattered, he was on his own.

They were over.

They had barely even started and they were over. She closed her eyes and put her face in her hands, but she didn't cry. She didn't want them to be over, but she didn't know how to fix this. He wouldn't even look at her, and she couldn't look at him. Every time she tried, all she saw was how much she had hurt him.

She hurt him over and over, in every way she could. Yesterday and today. She didn't mean to freak out about the recorder, but hearing his voice say that...

It had been one lie too many.

It had taken every bit of courage she ever had to ask him to come out here with her. To see just one star with her. And he didn't answer. He just stared at the Omnitrix in his hands.

They were over. She never even found the right word and they were done.

That's what she was afraid of anyway, what she was waiting to find out. She sat back up and took a deep breath and just looked as she waited to see if Ben would join her. The small moons that circled this world glowed in the sky when they rose.

She waited a very long time. She waited until she was sure that she had her answer.

And then Ben sat down next to her. He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. He was there. That was enough. He looked at her and he gave her a very uncertain little smile.

She loved his smile.

She watched that smile and remembered the second yesterday when she thought she had lost him and her world went cold. Somehow he had gone from the most annoying thing in her world to her world.

And she had let him slip out of her hand.

He still had the Omnitrix in his. She looked at it and she knew that he was keeping it. That he would put it on again one day. It might be tomorrow or it might be years from now, but he would put it on again.

She reached for Charmcaster's old spell book and felt it still safe in her pocket. When he put the watch on again, she would be ready. She wouldn't let him down again.

Never again.