Chapter 29: In Which Newt Gets Flirty

I apologize beforehand if anything Newt says or does is "innapropriate." Not that I think it is. Seriously, it's super down played. But still, I know someone will take offense and flame me eventually. *sigh* Might as well get the apology out of the way.

'Tis the end of the Broken Memories Arc (that's what I'm calling it). Now we'll see the aftermath. Enjoy!

Ben slowly woke up, his vision blurry. It took him a minute to clear his eyes. He was in a bed with a wooden roof over it supported by oak pillars. Black velvet drapes hung from the rafters, pairing well with the purple bed sheets Ben was tucked in. He turned his head to the left, inhaling a sharp menthol aroma.

Ben's eyes snapped open and he shot up to a sitting position. He was in Carter's room: two black couches in front of a glass coffee table in front of a plasma screen TV with a large case of movies; an oak desk with a home computer on top; the entire back wall converted into a library which was only half filled with books.

Ben tried to get out of bed, but then his legs buckled and he fell to the ground in a heap. He felt like he had been hit and then run over by Kevin's car. Ben slowly crawled back to the bed and pulled himself on top of it. He curled himself into a little ball, gulping down shallow breaths as if it would ease the pain.

That's what happens when you let me take over for the first time, Ventus explained in Ben's head. The more I come out, the easier it gets. Ben stayed silent. Are you mad at me?

…Yes. No. I don't know!

Ah, the conflicting emotions of a teenager.

This is no time to joke! How am I supposed to react? I just remembered why I forgot my memories and now I have to talk to Carter about it.

Are you mad at me, or at Carter? Ventus was so serious he took Ben by surprise.

Why would I be mad at Carter?

Because she might blame herself for what happened to you.

And now Ben was confused. Why would she do that?

She knew what would happen if a Slayer and Plumber got together. But she didn't try to push you away. If she had, then you wouldn't be so conflicted over the deaths of the trafficking ring.

How would I be less conflicted?

...Okay, let's try this again. If you hadn't seen that one girl get impaled by ice, you wouldn't have recognized Carter, and you wouldn't have called her a monster. Ben face palmed at the realization.

Ventus continued like Ben couldn't figure it out. Because you weren't acting rationally, she thinks you'll blame her for putting you in a horrible position. It's crazy, but some people will put the blame on others just to make themselves feel better.

And she's been living with that frame of mind for five years?

Well, I suppose when a friend calls you a monster, it tends to stick in your mind, Ventus said sardonically. Wait, I think she's coming back. I'll leave you alone to deal with your mess. And then he was gone.

Ben could hear it too; heavy footsteps that could only come from combat boots were walking towards Carter's bedroom, but they were still far off. Ben remembered that as the host of the wind god he had all of his powers, like hearing the sounds that went through the air. His ears weren't very tuned in though. He would have to work on that.

Ben stood up and tried to stop his legs from shaking. His first step made his leg wobble like gelatin and he had to grab his knee so it would stop. The second step fared no better.

The door opened, and Ben turned to see Carter walking in with a breakfast tray of pancakes and water on it. She stopped cold when she saw him.

"Oh, hey, you're up," she said calmly.

"Uh, yeah," Ben said.

"About time too; it's Sunday morning."

"What?" Ben turned to the balcony doorway to see the morning light shining through. "What time is it?"

"Around eight." Carter set the tray on the coffee table. "So how're you feeling?"

"I can barely walk."

"Yeah, that'll happen to you."

Ben was getting fed up with the awkward, tension-filled chit-chat. "Can we stop this?"

Carter eyed him coolly. "Stop what?"

"This." Ben waved his hand around. "We can't keep beating around the bush."

Carter crossed her arms. "Okay, then get to the point."

Ben suddenly choked up. He blinked a few times as he tried to figure out what to say. The way Carter was glaring at him wasn't helping.

"Well, Tennyson?"

"I'm sorry, okay?" Ben squeaked out. He gulped and tried again, his voice much stronger. "I'm sorry for not listening to you. I'm sorry for being stupid and thinking that the feud between the Plumbers and the Slayers didn't affect us. And I'm sorry…" His throat was closing in on him-his heart was too heavy-it was getting hard to breathe-

"I'm sorry for calling you a monster."

Carter blinked a few times, allowing the apologies to sink in. She hadn't expected this. She had thought for sure Ben was going to blame her for making him see the death of a young girl. It was totally illogical thinking, but then Ben had been thrust into a dire situation. Rational thinking would have been farthest from his mind. But know that he remembered…

"You mean that?" Carter asked tentatively, allowing some weakness to break through. "You're not just saying that?"

"Why would I lie about something like this?" Ben demanded to know. "It wasn't your fault-okay, it was kind of your fault, but it was mine too. I should have listened to you and maybe it wouldn't have happened."

"It probably would have," Carter said weakly. "You would have been traumatized, but you wouldn't have two and two together and possibly blame me."

"Why would I blame you now? Back when I was ten, yeah, I get that, but now?"

Carter heaved a great sigh before answering. "I've been working for a long time, Ben. I've seen a lot of terrible things that no one should have to see. And one of them is how people put the blame on someone else when something goes horribly wrong." She smiled hollowly, her eyes downcast.

"But that's totally unfair," Ben protested quietly.

"It is, but some people refuse to listen." Carter wasn't smiling anymore. She was staring at Ben seriously, waiting to see if he was still going to turn into a raving lunatic and accuse her of things that weren't her fault. Ben couldn't blame her.

Ben swallowed and took Carter's hand into his own. He looked her right in the eyes-right into her cold, hurtful eyes-and said, "I know you had a job to do, and what I said was out of line, and nothing I say or do is going to fix it. But I promise you I won't yell or scream at you and say things that make you hate yourself. Can you forgive me?"

Ben was looking at her with wet eyes, like he was about to break down and cry right there. Which was what Carter felt like doing. For so long she had kept this poisonous suspicion in the back of her mind that Ben would hate her if he remembered the Incident, hate her for killing someone right in front of him, hate her for something she possibly didn't have much control of. It was like for five years a hand had been squeezing her heart, making it choke her, and then suddenly, miraculously, the hand's lethal grip lessened until Carter's heart felt light again.

Fat tears rolled down Carter's face as she said, "Idiot."

"…Can I take that as a yes?"

"What do you think?"

"Oh, thank God," Ben said, relieved. And then he noticed that Carter was still crying, even though she stubbornly refused to make any sobbing noises. She was drying her eyes with her sleeves, sniffling twice as she did so. After that she blinked a few times, her eyes still wet and tinged with red. Her bottom lip trembled slightly, and she tried to bite it to make it stop.

Ben's heart melted a little when he saw that. He embraced her, making Carter put her head on his shoulder as she lightly gripped the back of his shirt. They stood like that for a moment right before Carter looked Ben right in the eyes and kissed him.

It was short and with closed mouths, but it was sweet like spring water. Electricity was coursing through the two of them, and the corny expression of fireworks came to mind. It ended too soon.

When they broke apart, Carter smirked as Ben's surprised face. "How was that, Tennyson?"

Ben swallowed as he zeroed in on the mischievous glint in Carter's eyes. He squeaked out, "Can I have another?"

Carter's smirk grew wider as she said, "Maybe later. Right now you have to eat." She gestured to the cold breakfast tray.

Ben was more than a little disappointed.

Gwen and Kevin had both slept in guestrooms at the Valentine manor, which looked like it belonged in a fancy hotel. They even had mini-bars in there. Not that they touched any alcohol during the night.

Gwen and Kevin were now in the living room after breakfast. The living room, like the rest of the house, was dark and full of priceless antiques and paintings. Two sleek black couches surrounded a rectangular coffee table with an expensive, Roman-styled vase on it, and Munch and Vermeer paintings gave the place a haunting look.

"What's happening peeps?" Evan said like a dork as he walked into the room. He had a goofy smile on his face, unlike Sam, who had followed him in.

"No one will tell me what happened to Ben back when we were ten," Gwen snapped at him, not in a good mood.

Sam rolled her eyes. "I told you last night that you honestly don't have much memory of it. Even if you tried to remember, there's a good chance that you lost the brain cells that held that blocked memory."

"Besides, maybe you don't want to remember," Kevin pointed out morosely.

"I still have a right to know!"

"Okay, fine," Evan said, "here's what happened. There was a human trafficking ring that Ben tried to stop. We warned your grandpa to stay away, but Ben went on ahead anyway. You tried to get into the building, but Cordelia and Isaac wouldn't let you. After a bit of arguing you were about to use your magical kung-fu on them to get through, so Cordelia wiped your memory."

"That's it?" Gwen asked incredulously.

"Pretty much."

"Then what happened to Ben?"

Evan's expression darkened. "He saw something he shouldn't have."

"Which was what?" Kevin asked curiously.

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Sam told him seriously. The tension between the four of them could have been cut with a knife. That is, until someone unexpected walked through the door.

"Evan!" Newt cried out. He was still wearing the jeans he had ripped up himself with a chain connecting two belt loops; beat up Van sneakers, and a white long-sleeved shirt under a ripped up black t-shirt with a realistic human skull on the front. His light blonde hair was still messy, and he had the triangular Valentine bang that completely covered the left side of his face.

When he saw his best friend, Evan shouted, "Newt!" and put him in a headlock before tackling him to the ground.

Kevin stared at the two of them before asking Sam, "Do they always do that?"

"Unfortunately."

When the boys finally untangled themselves, Newt said, "Sam-A-Lot!" and hugged the redhead.

"Sam-A-Lot?" Sam mouthed to Evan, who shrugged.

"Where's Kitty?" Newt asked when they broke contact. "I had a hunch she might need emotional support right about now."

"Wait, she didn't call you?" Gwen asked.

"No."

"Then how did you know?"

"With telepathy," Newt said seriously.

"Newt, the chances of you having telepathy are slim to none," Sam said.

"That's what you think!"

"Okay, okay, calm down." Evan held up his arms. "Is there another reason why you're here?"

"Actually yes," Newt said. "I have a few questions about a Galvanic Mechamorph."He put his thumb and his index finger to his lips and blew a whistle. A dog-like alien with black skin covered in a green circuit board design with a single eye for sight bounded into the room, happily bleating "Ship, ship!"

"You have a Galvanic Mechamorph for a pet?" Evan asked admirably as the little creature eyed Evan. It began to shake its hindquarters like a tail and rubbed its head against his leg. Evan scratched his head affectionately.

"Where'd you find 'im?" Kevin asked Newt.

"He was trying to morph into my dad's lawnmower," he explained. "I was about to attack him when he turned back to normal and leaped into my arms. I've never seen him before then, so I thought maybe he knew Carter."

"Okay, but why does he like Evan?" Gwen asked as Evan rubbed Ship's stomach.

"I'll ask her when she comes down," Newt said.

"Newt?" Carter asked, walking into the living room. She no longer looked like she'd been crying.

"Kitty!" Newt cried, spreading his arms out wide and ready to embrace his favorite cousin.

"Ship!" the little Mechamorph bleated happily, jumping right into Carter's arms and purring happily. Newt put his arms down awkwardly.

"How did you get in my house?" Carter asked the pet happily.

"That would be me," Newt said, holding up a hand. "Yeah, he really likes the two of us. Do you know why?"

"Ship is actually a cast-off of some other Mechamorph who needed some Plumbers to get his space ship back online," Carter explained honestly. She would never lie to Newt; they were too close.

"And that's how he found you?"

"Pretty much."

"That doesn't explain why Ship likes Evan so much," Kevin pointed out, curious.

"Well, Ben was there too…"

"He found you on your first date together?" Gwen cried out. Carter looked at the farthest wall with sudden interest.

Kevin snorted with laughter. "So does Ben know Ship considers you as his mother?"

Carter glared at him as Evan and Sam choked back snickers. "I'm not a mother, I'm an owner. And I never told him."

"Why not?" Newt asked.

"The two of them didn't exactly get off to a good start." Carter touched the back of her head where Ship attacked her. Ship mewled an apology. Carter smiled and patted his head reassuringly.

Sam pretended to cough and said, "You're such a mom."

"I heard that!"

"You should have," Sam said in her normal voice.

"So you're never telling Ben about Ship?" Evan asked worriedly.

Carter thought for a moment. "I probably should." Everyone nodded their agreement. "I don't know how I'm going to tell him though."

"Maybe you should try easing him into it," Sam advised. "Mention Ship and see where it goes."

Carter handed Ship to Newt. "I'll try that. But just in case; Newt, you're the adoptive father."

Newt gasped loudly. "I'm gonna be a daddy?" He started to scratch Ship's head with a giant grin on his face. "I shall pet him and love him and call him George."

"His name is Ship," Carter reminded him gently.

"Then I shall pet him and love him and call him Ship."

Ben was walking down the hall from Carter's room with an empty breakfast tray when he bumped into her. "Oh, hey, how're Gwen and Kevin?" he asked a little nervously. His lips still tingled from the earlier kiss, and he had been thinking about it for a while. Briefly he wondered if Carter was thinking about it.

Carter figured they were talking about him being the vessel of a god. "They seem fine," Carter said as truthfully as she could. "A little weirded out, but that's understandable."

"Good." Ben held up the tray. "Which way to the kitchen?"

"I have a better idea." Carter moved towards the middle of the hall where a painting was hanging. She took it down to reveal a little door behind it. Carter opened the dumbwaiter and put the breakfast tray on the lift. She closed the door, hit a hidden switch, and listened as the pulley system gently dropped the tray to the kitchen.

"You're house is full of surprises," Ben said casually, a smile stretching across his face. He felt invigorated now, the effects of Ventus's takeover nearly gone. Sure, Ben still felt a little drained and it was a little painful to move, but it was much better than it was before.

Did I forget to mention that the first takeover side effects are short-lived? Ventus joked in Ben's head.

Shut up, you!

How rude!

"Hey, Ben, remember our first date?" Carter suddenly blurted out. She didn't really know another way to bring up the subject. Suddenly talking about it seemed the best way to go.

A little startled, Ben said, "Of course I do. Especially since Ship kidnapped you and all."

This wasn't going to go well. "Aren't you being a little harsh? Yes, he did something bad, but he didn't know any better."

"Yeah, I bet every criminal loves that excuse," Ben said sarcastically.

"Don't be an ass," Carter snapped at him. "In Ship's case, he really doesn't know any better. He's like a puppy; you have to train him."

"I really don't care," Ben said meanly. "I never want to have anything to do with him ever again."

Before Carter could retort, Newt popped out from between them and hugged Ben. "Ben, dude, how's it going?" he said as his hands slowly shifted down to Ben's lower back. Ben made a choking sound as his body stiffened.

Carter grabbed Ben out of Newt's grasp and wrapped her arms possessively around his waist. "MINE!" she growled at Newt, much to Ben's utter delight and slight embarrassment.

Newt rolled his eyes. "You know I was joking. There's no way I'd go after you're current boy toy." Carter eyed her cousin suspiciously before slowly letting go of Ben.

"Uh, what just happened?" Ben asked timidly, a little shook up.

"Newt, I know you look like a girl, but that doesn't mean you can flirt with just anyone," Evan scolded him, walking down the hall with Sam, Gwen, and Kevin.

"Your mouth keeps moving, but all I'm hearing is, 'Let's play videogames!'" Newt joked, gesturing down the hall. Evan smiled and went after him.

"And where do you think you'll be playing videogames?" Carter asked him suddenly. Newt stopped in his tracks.

"…In your room?"

"Oh, no, mister, you're going to phone your parents and tell them that you're here."

"They're on an overnight trip; they won't miss me."

"Then you'll march your ass and get yourself a train ticket because someone took my subspace card!"

"I don't have it! You just lost it."

"No I didn't. I don't lose things." Carter stared pointedly at Sam.

"It's probably in your room," Sam pointed out.

Carter opened her bedroom door. "Then help me look for it."

Sam stalked into the room. "I don't see why I should when you lost it."

"I didn't lose it you took it again!" Carter said just before the bedroom door slammed shut.

Ben blinked and turned to the others. "What just happened?"

Before following Carter when she was having that talk with Ben, Newt handed ship off to Isaac for a few minutes so the alien dog could have a playmate. Isaac had looked at him strangely for a minute before agreeing. Newt vaguely wondered if his grandpa already knew about Ship.

Now back in the living room, Evan put a finger to his lips and tiptoed to one of the Munch paintings. He gently lifted it off the wall to reveal a small, boarded up air vent. The board had simply been fitted into the air vent without any sort of sealing tape or glue, so all Evan had to do was finger at the sides and pry it open. Soon the voices of Carter and Sam echoed through the room.

"I can't believe you're accusing me of something you lost!" That was obviously Sam.

"I wouldn't accuse you if you weren't constantly stealing my stuff!" said an indignant Carter.

"I don't steal your stuff; I just take it without asking!"

"That's the same thing!"

"No it isn't!"

"Yes it is!"

Evan put the board and fitted it back into the small vent. "They're gonna be up there a while."

"I've never heard them fight before," Gwen noted concerned.

"I have," Ben said. "They do this almost all the time at school. They don't usually yell though."

"Weird friendship," Kevin stated.

"Their fire and water; what'd you expect?" Newt joked, a smile spreading across his face. It was met with an awkward silence.

Gwen decided to break it. "So, Cordelia told us about Ventus."

Ben rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah…."

"Hey, Ben, how big is your head?" Kevin piped up. "I mean, you've got a god livin' in it and all."

"Ha, ha," Ben said sarcastically.

"Isn't that weird though?" Gwen asked. "Having someone else besides you sharing your body?"

"Well, I freaked out at first, but then I got used to it," Ben said honestly. "It's not so bad actually. He usually leaves me alone, and when he does talk to me, he gives me really good advice. But for whatever reason, he likes teasing me." He added that last bit with a frustrated sigh.

Newt hugged him from behind. "That's because you're so tease-able." He prodded Ben in the cheek with his finger.

Ben shook him off as quickly as he could. "Will you stop that? It's creeping me out."

Newt rolled his eyes. "Dude, I'm just messing with you. People think I look like a girl no matter what I do. Sometimes I flirt and play along with it."

"Isn't that weird though?" Gwen asked curiously.

Newt shrugged. "Sometimes, but then I get to see the look on their faces when they realize I'm a guy. You know, like Ben's priceless face." Ben was appalled, and it showed on his face. Kevin held his stomach while he laughed violently. This was followed by Evan's guffaws, Newt's roar of laughter, and Gwen's sniggers.

When they finally calmed down enough, Kevin suddenly asked, "So Ben, you got any powers?" Ben held up the Omnitrix and gave him a look. "No, I mean because of Ventus."

"Yeah, I do."

"...Could you show us?"

Ben worriedly looked around the room. "Nothing in here is easy to electrocute, is it?"

"Carter's upstairs; she shouldn't be affected," Evan told him reassuringly.

Ben, relieved, held up a hand. Concentrating, he generated a little ball of electricity, smiling as it crackled. Gwen and Kevin got up from the couch and stared. Ben threw the ball high in the air and caught it. He clenched it and it disappeared, leaving behind the scent of ozone. He looked at Kevin and Gwen, who were staring at him worriedly.

A sudden fear washed over Ben. For some reason, they were looking at him like he was a freak. "Uh, guys?" he asked timidly.

Gwen walked up to him, putting a hand on his face. "Your eyes, Ben," she said slowly. "What's wrong with your eyes?"

Evan grabbed his shoulder roughly and spun him around. He studied him and then said, "It finally happened."

"What?" Ben looked around at the others. "What finally happened?"

Gwen riffled through her bag and got out a small compact mirror. She held it to Ben, who looked at his reflection. Instead of seeing the normal round pupils, they were thin like snake eyes. His mouth opened and closed, unsure of what to say.

"Now concentrate on your teeth," Newt ordered him. "Make them grow into fangs, like this." He opened his own mouth to show off his normal human teeth. But then they grew sharper, becoming needle pointed like wolf teeth.

"Dude," Kevin said in shock.

Ben looked in the mirror and desperately tried to concentrate. He imagined his teeth growing longer, becoming sharper-a pain shot through his gums, a horrible pain that made him cry out. He nearly dropped the mirror as he clamped a hand over his mouth, tears springing in his eyes.

"Look in the mirror Ben," Evan ordered him gently. Ben shook his head, trying to push back the tears. "Look."

Slowly and with great effort, Ben looked at his reflection. His eyes still looked like snake eyes, but now very human tears were falling from them. Newt gently pried his hand away from his mouth, and Ben got a good look at his new sharp teeth. He ran his tongue along the pointed edges and nearly drew blood.

Gwen and Kevin were still staring at him, looking at him like he was a monster. Newt was patting his back reassuringly, telling him that the pain would stop soon. Evan was looking at him stoically. Ben took none of this in as he stared at his reflection, desperately willing it to change back into his human one.

And then it did. Slowly and painfully, his teeth morphed back into their normal size, and his pupils became round. He let out a gasp as the pain finally stopped, though it did nothing to stop the tears falling down his face.

And then Evan said, in an almost sad voice, "Congratulations; you are now officially one of us."

So, Newt abusing the fact that he looks kind of like a girl. You can tell there was some anime influence there. Of course, it could happen in real life, but I've never seen a boy get mistaken for a girl, so I don't know about that.

So, what do you think?